How to Reduce Your Business Utility Bills

Any business that is looking to increase its profits will first need to review and reduce overheads. Some overheads, like rent or staff salaries, cannot be reduced easily while others, like utilities, make sound financial sense. Focusing on reducing utility bills will not only help your business to run more cost-effectively, but you will be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly too!

Switch Water Suppliers

Independent research has found that as many as one in three businesses can make savings by switching business water suppliers. If you wish to learn more about your business’ water bills and save money, arrange a water audit. A water audit will help you learn more about where you are being overcharged and which payments you are entitled to claim back.

Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

Energy-efficient light bulbs are not only the most environmentally friendly option but the most cost-effective too. Switching to energy-efficient light bulbs will help your business save an average of $1.00 per bulb per month. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) use only 20-25% of the energy and last 15 to 25 times longer than the traditional incandescent bulbs they replace. To start saving money on lighting, begin replacing all your old halogen bulbs with LED bulbs when the old ones burn out.

Adjust Your Thermostat

Adjusting your thermostat even a few degrees can have a big impact on your utility bills. Ideally, aim to have your thermostat set to a temperature as close to the outside temperature as is comfortable. The recommended ideal temperature for saving money is 78 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and 68 degrees or above in winter.

Fix Leaks

Businesses with air leaks essentially allow money to slide through the cracks. Whether your leaks are allowing hot air inside in the summer or cool air in during the winter, the wastage can be simply fixed by caulk, sealing, and weathering your cracks and large openings. Businesses can make an average energy saving of 10-20% by sealing, caulking, or weather stripping all their cracks and large openings.

Seal up Drips

A dripping faucet or a leaking toilet will waste both your water and your money. A leaking toilet can waste more than 200 gallons of water every day, while a dripping faucet can waste up to 1,000 gallons of water per week. This is a lot of wastage, especially if your business does not deal with large amounts of water, to begin with. To save money on your utility bills, you should have all your water-using appliances checked for leaks and drips. Businesses should also endeavor to check and repair all plumbing fixtures as part of their routine maintenance schedule or during walkthroughs and turnovers.

Lower the Temperature of Your Water Heater

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends that water heaters are not lowered below 140 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent the risk of bacteria growth. However, just because the temperature needs to be above 140, it does not mean that it must be scalding hot. Every 10-degree Fahrenheit reduction you make on your water temperature can save you 3%-5% on your water heating costs.