The cold months here in Alberta can eat up a lot of energy for industrial facilities and commercial businesses. That energy expenditure is immediately reflected in the monthly budget, or lack thereof. Business owners can find themselves scraping together the money to sustain their building over the winter. Instead of accepting those spikes in cost and overuse of energy, here are some things you can do to protect your bottom line:
Know Your Numbers: Conduct Energy & HVAC Audits
Before making any big changes, it’s a good a idea to take a look at what you already have. Enlist facility experts to perform audits on your systems. This will allow you to see exactly what departments and areas are consuming the most energy. HVAC is important to include because these systems are responsible for over half of a building’s total energy consumption. Upon receiving the completed audit, you can make informed decisions on how to reduce energy output.
Set-Up a Strategy: Machinery Use
Once you review these audits you will be able to determine two important pieces of information:
- What machinery uses the most energy to run
- What hours in the day is energy being consumed
Based on these facts, come up with a strategy of machinery use. If possible, schedule your high-energy machines to run outside of peak hours. In addition, you may want to consider shut-downs and start-ups as a part of your plan. Is it necessary for all of your equipment to be running 24/7? If not, adjust as needed. Start-up can also be staggered to reduce a spike.
Insulation: Inspection and Maintenance
All of this strategizing won’t amount to much, however, if all of the energy you are using is disappearing out the walls. Have insulation experts come into your facility to inspect your existing set-up. They will be able to reveal any leakage or weak points in your insulation and recommend actionable methods to fix them. Maintaining your industrial and commercial insulation is key to energy savings.
Winter doesn’t have to increase your facility’s energy consumption beyond reason. Follow these steps to make the most of your output. While we can’t help you plan shut-downs, we can get your insulation where it needs to be. Contact us today.
