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Energy-CostsEnergy consumption is one of the biggest drains on funds and that almost no return on investment for business energy costs in [city]. Obviously, you have to spend the money on electricity so your business can run well, but these costs have to be monitored and limited to make sure they aren’t adversely affecting your profit margins. An energy bill that gets entirely out of control can make it seem like the profit is flying right out the window.

[city] businesses are redefining terms used to describe energy consumption in in ways that describe to total energy efficiency of the building and business. The emerging buzz term, “near zero,” describes effective efforts to drive down energy consumption in all kinds of buildings. Near zero means that the building still consumes more energy than it generates on its own, but only by a small margin.

The goal when running a business or building a structure is for the building to have a “net zero” energy consumption. This means that it isn’t using up any more energy that it’s creating. Newer buildings in [city] may have solar power components as well as other devices that allow the building to generate some of its own energy. The energy created balances out more closely with the energy used, and the building’s actual consumption of resources is considered net zero. When this isn’t possible, energy consumption experts are asserting that near zero is a good alternative.

These possibilities go far beyond just new buildings, however, and many older buildings are making an effort to hit net zero or near zero numbers. Often, the features of older buildings can be used in a more modern way to make them part of the planning for lowering energy consumption. There are enhancements for the outside facade that better insulate windows on existing buildings or shield them from direct sun or harsh weather conditions. These improvements make it so less gutting is necessary on the inside.

If the outside of the building has been thoroughly future-proofed, there are things that can be done to the inside of the building that will help to control the output of energy. For instance, replacing old AC units with more energy efficient models will save quite a bit of money in the long run. Additionally, using LED lights to replace old, outdated fixtures can cut down on energy consumption by between 50% over that portion of your current bills.

Newer LED fixtures use about a quarter of the wattage that older fixtures use, and they are rated for up to 100,000 hours of use in many cases. More than that, LED fixtures tend to be more connected to technology. This allows building managers and owners to control the lights in areas that are not being used. If your mail staff arrives at 6 a.m., but your marketing team doesn’t get in until 9:00 a.m., old fixtures would all go on at the earliest necessary time to support the entire team. LEDs allow you to program the timing for entire offices and save yourself the output of running lights when they don’t need to be on.

Buildings that generate their own energy are a great start toward getting out from beneath the major energy bills that have been hitting [city] hard for the last several years. Externally improving the building can reduce the number of temperature spikes and insulation issues that could be driving up your energy bills. From inside,  retrofitting lighting with Energy Star rated LEDs fixtures could be enough to cut your lighting bill and therefore a huge portion of your energy bill down. If you would like more information on LED fixtures in [city], we would be more than happy to assist you with that.

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