Small businesses all over the country are finding themselves struggling to pay their excessive electricity bills. Innovative technology needed to keep up with the competition demands more power. More constant power. The good thing about technology though, is that it can also help you stay in control of your energy usage and will put limits on what your employees and customers can use while in your brick-and-mortar location.
- Technology- Technology does cause your business the need to use more energy because it demands better internet systems, safer power supplies for computers and other electronic or robotic devices. But it can help as well. Smart thermostats, lighting, alarms, and cameras can all save you money overall. Cameras and alarms are meant to decrease the amount of embezzlement or theft that goes on throughout the world. Smart devices can be programmed to decrease energy consumption during specific times of the day, such as at night when the business is locked up. We all know about thermostats, and how they should be turned down to save money. When you have employees that have access to it that may be harder than you would think. Upgrade it to a smart thermostat so you can program and control it from your mobile device, and no one else can adjust it.
- Compare-Shop around and find the best energy supplier in the area that can keep up with your needs. Start with an online platform that has an electricity compare capability built into it. As a business owner you do have a little more power than the average consumer. You use more energy than a house, and you will obviously pay your bill on time because your company relies on power to stay in business.
- Refrigeration-Every company has refrigeration, even if it is only the small one in the office or breakroom used to keep coffee creamer cold and lunches preserved until you have time to eat it. If you have big units it is even more important to keep up with the maintenance. It may cost you some money to have the specialists tune them up on a regular basis, but it will decrease your electricity use because they will run more efficiently.
- Go Green-Jump headfirst into the new way of energy consumption and go green. Install some solar panels or windmills to produce some of your own power. If your company is by a river tap into it with some water powered turbines. Evaluate your area, your financial ability to buy the materials needed, and of course check with your local government for regulations that may be in place before you install anything.
- Business Energy Advice Program–You may have not ever heard of this government program before. If you are a small business owner and have between 6 and 20 employees, you can apply for free help from them. They will evaluate every aspect of your energy usage and give recommendations on what to do, as well as offer you resources to get the jobs done. If you qualify, they will not charge you anything for their services.
Saving on energy costs can be detrimental to a small business. They do not have the handfuls of money to throw at the energy suppliers like the big corporations do. Even then, though, energy consumption should be a priority to us all.
Follow the suggestions above and get ahold of the BEAP to see what they can do for you. Remember the old saying that “No one can help you until you help yourself,” meaning that it is time for you to step up and address your energy consumption and get them und
