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The case for energy efficiency- a convenient truth.
A McKinsey & Co analysis determined that “Almost 40% of abatement could be achieved at ‘negative’ marginal costs, meaning that investing in these options would generate positive economic returns over their life cycle."
Energy efficiency is the most important climate solution for several reasons:
- It is by far the biggest resource.
- It is by far the cheapest, far cheaper than the current cost of unsustainable energy, and so cheap that it helps pay for the other solutions.
- It is by far the fastest to deploy.
- It is “renewable” — the efficiency potential never runs out. It just makes sense for your business to be more energy efficient.
Help yourself here to a greener business:
Energy Saving Checklists for lighting
(see below for more Top Lighting Tips)
Energy Saving Checklists for HVAC
Energy Saving checklist for office equipment
Tip Sheet for HVAC (larger businesses)
Electronic v Magnetic Ballasts
Cost benefits for Purchasing
article from The Australian- Businesses will profit from adapting to Global Warming
Why should I start reducing carbon emissions?
“if you think you’re too small to be effective, you’ve never been in a dark room with a mosquito”
Ancient Chinese Proverb
Seriously though, there are lots of reasons businesses should start reducing their carbon (greenhouse gas) emissions – not only out of necessity, but also for the benefits.
Necessity
• Environment – if we don’t act now and reduce the speed of climate change, the global impact will be severe and in Australia we will see extreme weather conditions including increasing frequency and severity of floods and droughts, sea level rises, reduction in crop yields, extreme weather conditions (hurricanes), species extinction and destruction of our natural habitat such as the Great Barrier Reef. This is for real.
• Government regulation – several key pieces of Victorian and Federal regulation enforce the measurement and reduction of energy consumption by larger business consumers. These regulatory requirements have an indirect impact on smaller businesses. Act now.
• Eligibility to win contracts – sourcing a low-emission supply chain is a major strategy for a large business to reduce its carbon footprint, so suppliers are experiencing increasing demands by customers to minimize the emissions associated with the production of goods and services. Be a winner.
Benefits
Reduction in carbon emissions is associated with a range of benefits for businesses.
What are the benefits to my business of reducing carbon (greenhouse gas) emissions?
• Market advantage –– in the past 2 years, public awareness of climate change and the impact of carbon emissions on the environment has reached a tipping point. Consumers are starting to vote with their dollar, choosing ‘greener’ companies and products and employees are beginning to favour companies with a good environmental management record. Act sooner.
• Leadership – there is still a small window of opportunity left open for businesses that chose to act now to be seen as leaders in the field. Once this window has closed, it will be difficult to catch up to competitors, let alone stand out in front. Stand out.
• Lower operating costs – Reduction of carbon emissions often goes hand-in-hand with reduction in energy use and associated costs. Save money.
• Staying competitive – maintaining a good public image by matching or bettering the ethical and environmental standards of competitors will be essential business practice in the near the future. Stay strong.
Did you know: water prices are expected to rise 100% over the next 5 years and electricity 20-25% over the next 1-2 years. Landfill levies are increasing every year. Green Door businesses will be staying ahead of the game!
A few more quotes:
"Energy Efficiency is the fastest and most cost effective way to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
National Framework for Energy Efficiency (NFEE) research shows there is potential for 30% to 70% energy efficiency throughout the Australian economy."
source:Australian Government Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Working Group (2003).
Towards a National Freameork for Energy Efficiency
Issues and Challenges Discussion Paper.
NFEE. www.nfee.gov.au/about_nfee.jsp?xcid=64
“Energy efficiency has consistently proved the most cost-effective of
Australia’s responses to greenhouse emissions”
Source: Mark Lister (ECS) slide presentation on EPC
http://www.airah.org.au/Melbourne_Forum/AM/ContentManagerNet/ContentDisplay.aspx?Section=Melbourne_Forum&ContentID=3533
$975 million improvement in GDP
"More efficient use of energy in Australia could yield a $975 million improvement in GDP each year.
Source: Securing Australia’s Energy Future, Australian Government, published 15 June 2004
All Australian Governments recommend it."
“Improving the efficiency with which energy is used is important to Australia’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing. Energy consumption in the manufacturing, commercial and residential sectors can be reduced by 20–30% with the adoption of current commercially available technologies with an average payback of four years.”
"Achieving even a modest proportion of the potential offers considerable economic and environmental benefits”
Source: Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Working Group. A joint initiative of all 9 Australian Governments. Towards a National Framework for Energy Efficiency— Issues and challenge. Discussion paper, November 2003, Section 2 Why is action needed on energy efficiency?
Top Tips for Lighting
Lighting consumes 25-30% of energy in commercial buildings, and is a primary source of heat gain and waste heat. Many lighting changes are easy to make, and cost little or nothing. That may be why nearly 75% of all small business upgrades are related to lighting.
There are added bonuses: implementing an energy-efficient lighting system can reduce excess heat and energy. Upgraded lighting systems can also improve lighting quality of increase occupant comfort and productivity.
Turn off lights when not in use – save money and help the environment.
• Put reminder notices up to motivate staff
• Take full advantage of natural light in your store, turning off lights when there is sufficient sunlight
Don’t over light non-critical areas and don’t light unoccupied areas.
Provide only as much light as is necessary for the task
• Australian standard (AS 1680) details the amount of light required in particular areas e.g. Corridors 35 lux, office areas 400 lux
• Try task lighting- try focusing light just where you need it.
Use fluorescent lamps and CFLs (compact fluorescent) rather than incandescent lamps.
Why?
• Fluorescents use around 70% less energy
• Fluorescents are very efficient in areas where lighting is required for long periods
• Fluorescents are more expensive but last 10 times longer than incandescent
• The operating costs of fluorescents is 20% that of incandescent
• Fluorescents burn cooler- and lower the need for air conditioning in summer
Where possible use high triphosphor (T8) fluoro tubes rather than standard T8 fluoros. (Use T5 lamps when doing further installations *)
Why?
• They produce 15% more light and cost less to run
• Tubular fluorescents come primarily in 3 sizes (1.5m, 1.2m, 0.6m) and can be easily replaced by the T5 variety resulting in 25-45% savings
• If your light has 2 standard fluorescent tubes in it, consider removing one and replacing the other with a triphosphor (T8) lamp and specular (mirror reflector) such as Mirrorlux. (See payback calculator attached)
Keep light fittings clean and dust free.
Use low loss, extra low loss or electronic ballasts.
Why?
• They save up to 27- 70% of energy of fluorescent tubes
• They significantly increase the life of fluorescent tubes
• An alternative is to de lamp and reflectors
Avoid the use of halogen spotlights
Why?
• Down lights provide bright pools of light rather than general illumination. Up to six down lights may be required to light the same area as one pendant light.
• They can also cause gaps in the ceiling insulation, particularly if they require clear space to allow heat to dissipate. Think about other ways of lighting with fluorescents before installing halogens. If used, fit lower wattage and more efficient bulbs.
• Fluorescent or CFL tubes consume less that a third of the energy for a similar light output as a halogen spot light
Use high intensity discharge (HID) lamps in high ceilings where lights are left on for long periods
• HID Includes mercury vapor, metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps
• HID lighting is being increasingly used in smaller areas, especially low pressure sodium, the most efficient of the HID lamps
Switches and controls
Provide multiple switches to control the number of lights that come on at any one time. Using one switch to turn on all the lights in a large room is very inefficient. Place switches at the exits from rooms and use two way switching to encourage lights to be turned off when leaving the room.
'Smart' light switches and fittings use movement sensors to turn lights on and off automatically. These are useful in rooms used infrequently where lights may be left on by mistake, or for the elderly and disabled. Make sure they have a built-in daylight sensor so that the light doesn't turn on unnecessarily. Models which must be turned on manually and turn off automatically, but with a manual over-ride, are preferable in most situations. Be aware that the sensors use some power continuously, up to 5W or even 10W in some cases.
Use timers, daylight controls and motion sensors to switch outdoor security lights on and off automatically. Similar controls are particularly useful for common areas, such as hallways, corridors and stairwells, in multi-unit housing. Consider using solar powered lighting for garden and security lights.
Modern dimmer controls for incandescent lights save energy and also increase bulb life. Most standard fluorescent lamps cannot be dimmed, but special dimmers and lamps are available.
• Auto and step dimming systems effectively reduce the total energy consumed by the lighting system by between 20%- 30% and more.
A bit more technical information on lighting
Standard practice Lamps Fluorescent halophosphor T8 (36 Watts)
(T8 and T5 refer to the diameter of the tube, in U.S. units. A T8 is 8/8ths of an inch wide i.e. 1 inch. A T5 is 5/8ths of an inch wide and noticeably narrow.)
Most commercial lighting systems incorporate two standard T8 36W halophosphor fluorescent tubes with standard magnetic ballast driving each tube.
Life = 6000hrs Life
More efficient practice Triphosphor T8 (36 Watts) has 20% greater light output than a standard T8 lamp of the same wattage.
The greater light output means fewer lamps are required, resulting in lower capital cost and lower energy consumption. To maximize these savings, appropriate lighting design is important. Life= 16 000hrs (with electronic ballast)
Best practice Triphosphor T5 (28 Watts) 23% more efficient than a triphosphor T8 lamp and 38% more efficient than standard T8 lamp.
This means less energy is needed to produce the same amount of light.
T5 lamps are most economical when installing new light fixtures, as they require different fittings to T8 lamps. Operate specifically with electronic T5 ballast. T5 lamps are smaller; therefore fewer resources (such as glass, phosphor and mercury) are needed. Shorter than a T8 and so are ideally suited to standard 1200mm ceiling tiles.
Life = 16 000hrs
How to calculate savings from lighting
Savings can be calculated by using this equation:
Annual savings ($) = (N x P x H x T)/1000
(Plus the cost of ongoing replacement of tubes)
Where:
N = number of lamps remove
P = power rating of lamps
H = number of hours of usage per year
T = electricity charge per kWh (tariff)
Bought to work with the asSIStance of:
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