Crank up the air conditioning to keep staffers cool, and you’ll suffer sticker shock when you open that month’s energy bill. Let things warm up, and you’ll save on utilities — but make the office an uncomfortable and unproductive place to be.
You don’t want to face either situation, but there’s no need to start an extensive energy bill audit or overhaul your entire facility to see major savings. Addressing these two areas will help keep temperatures and energy costs down without sacrificing employees’ time or comfort levels:
- Seal things up. Sure, employees keep windows, doors, loading docks, etc. closed as much as possible to lock in the air conditioning. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t costly leaks at work. Having your facilities manager check insulation and seals around windows and doors will make sure you’re holding in as much cool air as possible.
- Check your filters. Got the office thermostat turned down to 65, but everyone can’t stop sweating? It might be time to clean — or replace — your HVAC filters. Higher-quality (or just new) filters boost how much and how quickly air flows throughout a building. A simple swap can turn the office sauna into an icebox. Replacing the filters more frequently costs a little on the front end, but it’ll save you money by summer’s end.
There’s extra incentive for making these changes as soon as possible: They’ll keep costs low even when it’s time to turn off the air conditioning and switch on the heaters.