20+ Saving Tips for
Businesses
As a company you can make a big impact!
You may want to take action, but you are putting it off in front of you. Entrepreneurs usually have something else on their mind. Let the situation in the world be a reason to get started on this today! We are happy to give some tips where the payback times are short. Count out your winnings!
🗓 Promotions for March 27
1. Don’t heat an empty office
Check the temperature in the time when no one is there. Most buildings are empty 70% of the time. Should the temperature be 17 C or is 10 C also good? Think about optimizing the time. Adjust the system in such a way that it is warm on time on Monday morning.
Extra tip: now that the outside temperature is rising, you can even consider turning off the heating in the office completely.
2. Also don’t heat the outside air
A heated terrace is very welcoming, but patio heaters also cost a lot of energy. And a lot of heat is lost, especially if there is not heater a person sits. Shame anyway. In addition, more and more people are finding patio heaters are no longer possible in a climate crisis.
3. Don’t leave lights on unnecessarily
Take a critical look at which lighting should be on and when. During the day and certainly in the evenings and weekends. It saves money, but more and more people also find leaving lamps on unnecessarily antisocial – so lamps also contributes positively to the image of your organisation. Give the building manager or cleaners are instructed to turn off all screens and lights at the end of the day .
4. Install LED lights
Replacing old lighting with LED lighting can often result in energy savings of up to 50%. And it doesn’t have to be complicated at all. With fluorescent lamps, for example, you can often keep the existing fixtures, so only the lamps need to be replaced.
Additional tip: Millions of fluorescent tubes burn in Dutch utility buildings. If we replace this with LED, this produces about 65% CO2-saving on. The average payback period is just over 12 months. Now that’s a business case! And what makes it even more interesting: LED can be switched on and off much more often than TL, so install it in warehouses with motion sensors and you can save even more.
5. Keep access doors closed
Do you have a shop or catering business? Keep the front door closed as much as possible on March 27 and after that.
Extra tip: shopkeepers in Wageningen have been keeping their doors closed for about 5 years. This saved them a lot of money and the customers got used to it quickly. What helped there is that several shopkeepers in the same street started using it at the same time. Read more information here.
Extra tip: rather keep the door open hospitably†Then inquire about a skygroin. With this you can all to 40% energy savings. This keeps the heat inside in the winter and out in the summer.
6. Mobility
It is of course best if employees travel to work on foot, by bicycle and/or public transport. If you nevertheless travel by car, the correct tire pressure can prevent about 2% to 5% fuel wastage. By applying ‘economical driving techniques’ you save up to 6% extra on fuel costs. Provide the employees with training or check the tire pressure at the office.
Extra tip : dDue to corona we know that many people are willing to work from home more often. Research shows that about half of the entrepreneurs (47 percent) expect hybrid working to be permanent in their company. Make this possible for those employees who depend on the car to get to the office. Employers may reimburse certain facilities tax-free for this, such as a computer with peripheral equipment, a mobile telephone or the installation of an extra telephone line or internet subscription, and occupational health and safety facilities for a good layout of the home workplace, such as an adjustable desk or office chair. And help these employees immediately save on heating at their “home office” by adding such a nice add a heat blanket .
7. Do not heat or light in places where no one works
Investigate in which rooms the light and heating are often unnecessarily used. is this with motion sensors on and off? This saves you up to 25% extra on lighting costs. The payback period is often shorter than 2 years, especially with current energy prices. And also check the heating pipes in basements, attics, work cupboards – and insulate them where necessary.
Additional tip: since many people work from home more often, offices are usually no longer 100% occupied anyway. As much as possible, place employees together in the same heated room and think about which rooms you still want to heat as standard, and where that may not be necessary (anymore).
8. Make every day a warm sweater day
Set your building’s thermostat one or two degrees lower. Several companies, including Rabobank , preceded you in the past week.
9. Take advantage of the energy saving obligation
Did you know that companies and institutions are obliged to take energy-saving measures according to the Environmental Management Act , and that this applies to measures with a payback period of five years or less? Investments made therefore quickly pay for themselves. For more information, visit RVO.nl.
Additional tip: Have you already taken energy-saving measures? Pass this on to the communications department. Because the fact that your organization helps to prevent energy waste is nothing to be modest about!
10. Help with communication
Hang up a large banner of the day without gas, pay attention to it via your social media channels with #dagtegengas and feel free to tell us what you are already doing or have done, maybe you will inspire someone else with it.
Extra tip: come up with a nice promotion with your organization and message about it on social media and the (local) news. Do not only cultivate goodwill, but also do your part.
Actions for the coming days
1. Insulation
Good insulation of walls, roof, windows and floor reduces heat loss and improves comfort. Due to the savings on the energy bill, you will earn back the investment within five years on average. Also think of pipe insulation with a payback period of one year.
2. Monitor
Up to 30% of the energy consumption within organizations is pure waste. For example, by computers, screens, beamers , copiers or other equipment used at night still on or in standby. Waste of lost energy and money. By creating insight into where and when this energy is used, you can take concrete measures to save on it. Savings of 15% on gas and electricity are realistic!
3. Heat later
See if you can heat smarter in the preseason with a weather-dependent control. Set the temperature in stages, so that the sun can also do its work.
4. Properly set up your climate system
Periodically check the settings (setpoints) of the climate control system. If necessary, perform a control measurement. Do this especially in the early and late season, when the temperature fluctuations are large. Cooling and heating at the same time is a waste of money. How cold does it have to be in summer? Is it necessary to sit in front of the computer with a thick sweater? Think of a green wall: not only good for air quality and cooling, but also for the well-being of your colleagues.
Additional tip: When purchasing appliances, pay attention to the energy label. Choose at least energy label A or better. And how eenergy efficient also : make sure all equipment is turned off completely at night when not in use. Because preventing standby consumption can save a lot of energy and money!
Golden tip for the industry: Electric motors consume almost 70% of industrial electricity, so large companies can save a lot here. Why? Because a lot of use is still made of electric motors of a previous generation.
5. Get good advice and conclude a suitable maintenance contract
How do you recognize a good installer? One that controls the central heating system in such a way that there are no complaints, but does leave the heating on 24/7? Or one that puts the sensors in the right place and regulates them properly, thus consuming 30-50% less gas than the first installer. You may be able to conclude a performance contract with the second type of installer for a certain guaranteed energy performance.
6. Behavioral measures
Talk to each other about energy savings. Real estate, purchasing, maintenance and building management professionals in particular miss out on opportunities because they don’t get around to it or don’t think about it. The urgency is now also to discuss this in your company. And when you’re back at the office on Monday, get your colleagues tea in one round, so the kettle doesn’t have to do its job several times. This saves energy and is also a lot more pleasant.
7. Solar panels
Solar panels can be mounted on a flat or a pitched roof. They have an average payback period of about 7 years. And did you know that most are large commercial roofs suitable for a solar installation with minimal adjustments ?
8. Make every day a warm sweater day
Set your building’s thermostat one or two degrees lower. Several companies, including Rabobank, have already preceded you in the past week.
9. Date Diet
Data storage requires a lot of energy, so clean up your data†On your computer, tablet, telephone, server, website… And check whether your data center is really that green. You can also limit your CO₂ emissions by, for example, Use Ecosia as a search engine.
Did you know that?
Companies and institutions that annually consume more than 50,000 kWh of electricity or 25,000 m3 of gas are obliged take all energy-saving measures that they can earn back within 5 years. Does your organization have an office area of more than 100 m2? Then it must go to at least Energy Label C will be introduced in 2023.
Do you have no money to invest in sustainability or do you not want to burden your balance sheet with this for other reasons? It is also possible without investing yourself, but with a long-term service contract. See https://bespaargarant.nl/ for more information.
📣 Is your company taking action?
We place as many promotions as possible on the @dagtegengas website and social media channels.
This page was created with the help of Selina Roskam and Piet Meijer, among others.
