facility focus Image courtesy of Kim DeClaire/iStock/Thinkstock Saving Energy While Staying Warm Tips to help facility managers control costs during the long, cold winter. By: Andrea Vollf I If you are an in-house facility manager, the odds are pretty high that you spend a lot of time focusing on your operation’s bot-tom line. While during summer months your main concern is keeping the building cool with-out increasing your energy bill, wintertime shifts your gears to keeping the building warm without breaking the bank. There are few things that you should consider implementing this winter — if you aren’t already doing so — to help you to save money and energy. by replacing your current CFLs with light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Weather Stripping If your doors and windows are fairly new but you still feel the draft during cold months, you should look into installing new weather stripping throughout your office building. Dual-stage Furnace Depending on the size of your building, consider a high-efficiency, dual-stage fur-nace to help you to save energy while keep-ing the building warm. Insulate It I know that might sound obvious to many of us, but unfortunately a large amount of indi-viduals forget to check how well insulated their office building is. Such a mistake ends up reflected in their monthly energy costs. Zone Heating Having a space that is designed to accom-modate different heating and cooling sys-tems is essential to energy savings, espe-cially if part of the building is not used on a regular basis, such as a conference center, gymnasium or stock room. Motion Sensors Usually forgotten, motion sensors are an awesome solution for hallways, restrooms, conference rooms, break rooms, stock rooms and any other space that is not fully occupied throughout the day. By installing a motion sensor you will cut your energy cost up to 90 percent, espe-cially if the room is rarely used, and as a re-sult, a light could stay on for days at a time if forgotten. Check Your Windows Poor quality windows can generate a con-siderable increase in your monthly energy costs since they facilitate hot air escaping the space. Every year check your windows to make sure they are fully operable and no air is leaking through. Otherwise, consider replacing your current windows with new, high-efficiency ones. Zone Controlled Lighting Another easy way to save energy is by hav-ing your lighting system designed in a way where the building gets lit in sections. Here, the parts of the building that don’t get used very often remain with the lighting turned off. Task Lighting Every office space should have task lighting installed as part of its design plan. This way, employees would be able to work efficiently using lighting that’s more appropriated than a general option. Energy Audit Hiring an energy professional to perform an in-depth energy assessment of your build-ing will allow you to address specific mat-ters such as poor insulation and air leakage that are invisible to the human eye. CM VK Sustainable Concepts’ Principal Andrea Vollf, LEED AP ID+C, is a registered interior designer and sustainability professional. Vollf is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council — Illinois Chapter, with in-depth knowledge of sustainability. Vollf is also one of the co-founders of NEW — Networking of Entrepreneurial Women — a net-working group that is committed to supporting and promoting entrepreneurial women in the Chicago suburban area. Connect with Vollf on Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Window Film Easy to install and available in different shades, window films are perfect for build-ings facing south as it will help you to save energy and reduce glare, without compro-mising the amount of daylight getting into the room. For a better understanding of how much you will save, take a look at the different window film energy calculators online. Space Heaters Considering that, when it comes to tem-perature and comfort zone, not every per-son is at the same level, another option for the colder months is to set the building at a cooler temperature while allowing employ-ees to have space heaters in the offices. This way you will keep your energy costs down. LED All The Way While compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) is more efficient than incandescent lighting, you still can bring your energy costs down 46 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • January 2014
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