I wanted to share a thought from an article posted on the Greener Buildings website. The piece reinforces the many options an owner or company has when considering the renovation or construction of a new facilities to integrate “green” building practices. As much as Bacon Lane Architect LLC would like companies and owners to consider building a brand new facility from the ground up, we realize that is not always practical. For those who want to reduce operating costs, there are simple changes owners can implement to a facility that “green” up their buildings and leased spaces.
See excerpt below from the online article “Sustainable Solutions: The Impact of the Green Building Movement” by Wes McDaniel.
A more recent article “Green (Ware) House Effect“, by Rick Underwood, shares similar thoughts that affirms the thinking above there are simple considerations and “easy fixes” to reducing operating costs for an existing building or facility. Further …. There are other great points in the article such as the strategic planning for the selected location of a warehouse if properly thought through will reduce costs and reduce the companies carbon footprint. Being central in your supply chain, receiving and ditribution , makes sense and saves money.
– Martha
“Seven Simple Ways to Reduce Facility Operating Costs
- Replace fluorescent 40W-T12 lamps with 32W-T8 lamps and electronic ballasts.
Not only are T8 lamps with electronic ballasts more energy-efficient than the standard T12 lamps and ballasts, they also provide better quality lighting due to a higher color rendering index. - Replace incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps.
Compact fluorescent lamps use approximately 1/3 to 1/4 of the wattage of incandescent bulbs while maintaining the same lighting levels. Furthermore, compact fluorescents have a lifetime of up to 10,000 hours compared with 1,000 hours for most incandescent bulbs. - Replace incandescent or fluorescent exit sign lights with LEDs.
The law requires that exit signs run continuously. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) operate on about 2W compared with 40W incandescent bulbs and 10-15W fluorescent lamps. - Use occupancy sensors in areas where lighting is typically left on when no one is there.
Occupancy sensors ensure that the lights are turned off when an area is not occupied. The energy savings from occupancy sensors depends on the total hours that the lights are normally on and the percentage of hours that they can be turned off. - Install programmable thermostats.
Programmable thermostats can be used to schedule the use of your heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment. They set up or set back temperatures when the facility is not being used. A reasonable and often-used estimate of savings is 1 percent savings for each degree of an eight-hour setback. - As motors burn out, replace them with energy-efficient ones.
Standard motors use a lot of energy to operate and, by increasing efficiency just a few percentage points, you can save a significant amount of money in the course of a year, especially if the motor operates for long durations of time. - Instead of rewinding existing motors, replace them with energy-efficient ones.
Rewinding motors can lower efficiency and increase operating costs. They also may not last as long as newer motors. Therefore, when the motor is less than 25 hp, it is generally better to replace the motor with a high-efficiency equivalent rather than rewind it.”