Photos by Rick Mayo & Kristi Mayo | Mile 90 Photography

Here are your 5 initiatives to reduce your energy spend! Keep in mind that $1 of electricity saved goes straight to your profits! This could be the equivalent of an extra pint sold each day.

As an appetizer, please read our article on Understanding Your Energy Bills. This will provide you with more details on building awareness throughout your organization of how your energy bills work and how much you are currently spending. We have found many breweries are on the wrong rate structure, causing them to spend an additional 20% on their electricity! We would be excited to talk you through this and ensure you’re not overspending.

5 easy to implement ideas that could reduce your energy usage by 10%!

Idea #1: Optimize your HVAC throughout your facility.

Are your Roof Top Units working in sync with each other? Have you programmed your thermostats based on occupancy of the areas?

If you have answered no to these questions, there is significant opportunity to reduce your electrical needs to heat and cool your facility! For businesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, Wood River’s Connected Control offers guaranteed savings!

Idea #2: Find the perfect balance of using natural light and reducing the heat from the summer sun

Ever sit in a room with the sun beating down on you in the middle of summer? It’s hot as h#ll right? Think about how that impacts the amount of energy needed to cool down that room.

The image on the right shows the temperature difference between trees and no trees on a street in the same neighborhood. The differences are real and this same thing is happening in your building with and without shades. The cooling load can significantly increase when big windows are exposed to the sun without blackout shades.

Idea #3: Make sure your equipment is working extra hard -> Clean out your filters and coils, ensure hot / cold pipes are properly wrapped

Is equipment working harder than they need to to pull air through filters that are clogged? Is there heat loss or gain on pipes around your facility due to improper insulation? Implement a monthly maintenance program to clean air filters and piping around your facility.

Idea #4: Perform a study on when and what is driving your peak demand. Brainstorm with your team on how to reduce this spike.

We have found that the biggest driver of a peak demand spike can be managed once everyone is aware of what is causing the spike. For instance, Chillers are notoriously energy hogs, but do activities that push the Chiller to it’s maximum need to coincide with other peaks in your facility? One ideas that has had success is moving the timing of cold crashing to be outside of the peak Front of House timing, ie. 1130am when the Front of House begins preparations for a noon opening.

A great process is to identify what is driving your peaks and then collaboratively generate and prioritize ideas to drive down the peak. For more details, explore our prioritization structure laid out here.

Ideas #5: Forgo the PHANTOM Power, especially in your offices!

Even with all of the energy efficient equipment out there, a lot of electrical usage occurs when equipment isn’t even in use. Power Strips and Smart Plugs are great for turning off smaller equipment that isn’t in use with set timers (you can even turn them off from home with an app).

Small incremental changes make a big difference, 1% here and 2% there have a compounding impact on your company's CO2 footprint. Mother nature will thank you!

A-Bay Engineers want to dive in with you!

Let’s dive into these initiatives together and explore how they would work for your facility! Schedule a free introductory call today using our link here. We would also love to learn about any initiatives you're currently pursuing to share with the community. Together we can reduce our CO2 footprint and make a better tomorrow!

Five Initiatives to Reduce Your Energy Spend!