Text-Only Version
Deb Neuman, Director, Target Technology Incubator:
"You don't have to make major changes to reduce your energy
consumption. There are some things you can do today that are very
simple and very easy to do. And the first thing to just be sure that
lights are off. It sounds obvious, but many times I know in my
office, I might walk by the conference room and the lights are on
and nobody's in there, and to me, it's like walking by a faucet in
the bathroom or the kitchen and the water's running--you don't leave
it on, you immediately go and turn it off. And so I look at lights
the same way. The sensors are great to install, particularly in
areas in a business that aren't used that frequently, so a
conference room is a great example of that. Somebody walks in, boom,
the lights go on, and then after somebody leaves, if there's no
motion detected for a period of time, the lights automatically shut
off. We're seeing more use of these sensors and lighting sensors in
new construction, but it's easy to install them in existing offices,
as well. Another good idea is to try to make use of natural light.
The beauty of natural light is that it's free, of course, so that's
great, and studies have actually shown that workers who work under
natural lighting have better focus, they concentrate better,
productivity is increased, and absenteeism is reduced. Another great
way to reduce energy consumption is to replace existing lighting
with the compact fluorescent bulbs--the curly-cue bulbs that we're
becoming familiar with--they're a great way to go. One of the things
that you can do is to really look at your work space and ask
yourself whether you are, in fact, using all of this space
effectively. If not, close off the areas that aren't being used, so
that reduces the need to either cool those areas in the summer or
heat those areas in the winter time. Another thing you want to do in
terms of your heating and cooling systems is just keep them well
maintained. It sounds obvious, but if your filters are clogged up,
you're going to increase your energy use and consumption. Sharing
office equipment is another great idea. Not every office in your
business, perhaps, needs their own copier and printer--it might be
more effective to have one that everyone shares and uses, and that
reduces energy consumption as well."
