Energy Management Tip #3: 24/7 Loads

Time and time again, one of the most effective ways to cut electricity bills quickly is to get a better handle on 24/7 loads - the equipment that is left switched on 100% of the time.

For faith-based organizations, we regularly see 40% of all electricity-powered equipment running every minute of every day – and other organizations are not much different.

Some of this is unavoidable. We would expect 24/7 loads to be up to 15-20% as some lighting, servers, and security systems run through the night too. But for the most part, the biggest culprits are computers, televisions and other equipment that’s set to standby.

It’s a simple yet surprisingly effective issue to tackle, which is possible just by spending a little extra energy at the end of the day.

1.    Use power strips and power down at the end of each day (one button is much easier to switch off!)

2.    Install occupancy sensors for common area lighting

3.    Install smart thermostats and ensure temperature and time settings are set effectively

4.    Appoint an “energy champion” who’s responsible for monitoring energy efficiency specific areas of the organizations (assuming there is no facilities manager)

5.    Faith-based organizations with youth programs can educate children and young people about the importance of saving energy and simple ways to do it – including switching off standby buttons

As an important reminder from our last post about peak demand charges, remember that powering up equipment again in the morning should be done in stages rather than all at once to avoid inflated demand charges.