Two components determine your electrical costs: Consumption and demand. When demand is high it strains the grid and the cost of electricity rises. Demand fluctuates constantly, so it’s measured in short increments. One 15-minute period of your business doing something energy intensive during high demand can have a significant effect on that month’s bill. Demand charges can become a real issue in the summer due to air conditioning. It's not unusual for demand charges to make up half a facility's electric bill. Fortunately, there are operational strategies and upgrades that can help reduce peak demand usage.
Operational changes
- Adjust work schedules to reduce energy use during peak periods, generally the afternoon.
- Turn off printers, fax machines and other office equipment when not in use. Use energy-saving sleep mode on computers and office equipment.
- Turn off lights in unoccupied spaces such as restrooms and conference rooms.
- Use an air economizer to precool your facility at night and early in the morning.
- Lower freezer temperatures slightly during off-peak periods and turn them off during peak periods.'
Equipment and building systems
- Install an energy management system to schedule equipment and building system operations to reduce demand.
- Install automatic sequencers on high-energy-use machines to prevent them from all starting at the same time.
- Consider installing a thermal energy storage system. These store chilled water at night for cooling during the day when demand is highest. There is a variation of this technology for walk-in coolers and freezers that stabilizes the temperature and reduces the incidence of short cycling, extending the life of chiller equipment.
- Use backup generators to handle large electrical loads that must operate during peak periods.
- Reduce lighting demand using occupancy sensors and daylighting strategies.
- Install window films, solar screens or awnings on south- and west-facing windows.
- Reduce heat gain and the need for cooling with light-colored, reflective, cool roofing materials.
Establish a profile
Each facility has a unique energy-use pattern. You have access to this data through the Energy Analytics tool in My Account. This data helps you better understand how your facility uses energy. Energy Analytics is designed to provide personalized energy recommendations to help you achieve both energy and cost savings for your business.