During the hot summer months, keeping energy costs down can be a challenge. With the increased demand for air conditioning and longer daylight hours, your energy bills can quickly skyrocket.
But fear not fellow building owners and managers - there are plenty of strategies you can employ to reduce your energy consumption and save some serious cash.
Harness the Power of Daylight
One of the most effective ways to save energy in the summer is to maximize the use of natural daylight.
Especially living up North, we experience upwards of 14-16+ hours of daylight during the Spring/Summer, so we may as well use it to our advantage!
By strategically leveraging daylight, you can dramatically reduce your reliance on artificial lighting, which can account for a significant portion of your overall energy usage.
Here’s a couple of steps you may want to take:
Conduct a Lighting Audit
The first step is to conduct a thorough lighting audit of your property. Walk through each building, room, and common area, and assess the current lighting setup.
Take note of the types of light fixtures, bulb wattages, and the overall efficiency of the lighting system. This will give you a clear understanding of where you can make improvements.
Optimize Window Placement and Treatments
Next, take a close look at the placement and treatment of your windows. Strategically positioned windows can allow natural light to flood your spaces, reducing the need for artificial lighting.
Using light-coloured, sheer window treatments can diffuse and reflect natural light, rather than heavy, dark curtains that block it out.
Leverage Daylight Harvesting
Once you've optimized your window placement and treatments, it's time to implement daylight harvesting strategies to reduce energy consumption.
Daylight harvesting systems use sensors to detect the amount of natural light in a space and automatically adjust the artificial lighting accordingly. This ensures that you're only using as much artificial light as necessary to supplement the natural daylight, resulting in significant energy savings (sometimes upwards of 30-40%!)
Think of this as a continuous dimmer that is automatically controlled.
Upgrade to Energy-Efficient Lighting
While maximizing the use of natural daylight is a great starting point, you'll also want to consider upgrading your lighting system to more energy-efficient options. Incredible strides in lighting technology have been made over the last decade, with a variety of high-performing and cost-effective solutions on the market to suit any business need.
LED Lighting
One of the most popular and effective energy-efficient lighting options is, of course, none other than LED technology.
Compared to traditional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, LEDs can use up to 75-90% less energy while providing the same, if not better, lighting quality.
LEDs also generate less heat, which can help reduce the strain on your air conditioning system during the hot summer months.
Occupancy Sensors
Another valuable tool in your energy-saving toolkit is occupancy sensors. These handy devices can detect when a space is occupied and automatically turn the lights on and off accordingly.
This ensures that you're not wasting energy by leaving lights on in unoccupied areas, which can be a common issue in commercial and residential properties.
Dimmable Lighting
Dimmable lights are also a fantastic way to save energy in the summertime. By allowing you to adjust the brightness of your lights based on the natural daylight levels and occupancy, you can avoid over-lighting spaces that already receive an abundant of natural light during the day.
On your next LED upgrade, make sure your lighting set-up can host your dimmable bulbs (whether now or in the future).
You could even take it one step further by upgrading to a Smart Lighting System, which offer a wide range of features and benefits (such as reducing your electricity bills!)
Optimize HVAC and Lighting Integration
Finally, it's essential to consider the integration between your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system and your lighting setup. These two systems can have a significant impact on each other's energy usage and efficiency, so it’s key create a synergy between the two.
Thermostat and Lighting Synchronization
One way to improve this integration is by synchronizing your thermostat and lighting controls. This can be done through a centralized building management system or by using smart lighting technologies.
Doing so will ensure that they're working in harmony to maintain optimal comfort for your tenants, while reducing energy consumption.
For example, when your lights are turned on, the system can automatically adjust the HVAC settings to account for the additional heat generated by the lighting.
Conversely, when the lights are dimmed or turned off, the HVAC system can make the necessary adjustments to maintain the desired temperature and humidity levels.
Occupancy-Based HVAC Control
Another strategy is to implement occupancy-based HVAC control. By integrating your HVAC system with your occupancy sensors, you can automatically adjust the temperature and airflow based on the presence of people in a given space.
This ensures that you're not wasting energy cooling or heating unoccupied areas, further reducing your overall energy consumption.
Enhance Your Summer Savings
In our technology-driven world, there are many incredible tools that you can implement which can significantly reduce your energy costs and save money during the hot summer months.
From harnessing the power of natural lighting to upgrading to energy-efficient lighting and optimizing the integration between your HVAC and lighting systems, there are numerous ways to help you save money and energy, all while improving your bottom line.
Even the smallest changes can add up to big savings. With a little bit of effort and some smart technology, you can keep your energy bills in check and enjoy the summer without breaking the bank.
If you’re curious on how to effectively implement LED technology and smart lighting, let’s have a quick call to discuss your requirements.
