The rise in the prices of energy resources has affected everyone – both individuals and companies. If everyone is responsible for paying their bills and saving money at home, the work environment is a shared responsibility. Sustainable solutions and habits on a daily basis can help to significantly reduce one of the biggest cost items of companies – the bill for the consumed electricity. At the same time, it is important not to overdo the thrift in the workplace, where most people spend most of the day, so a comfortable working environment that does not harm health must be ensured.
Saving energy resources in the workplace can directly affect your future well-being. It’s no secret that we live in a time when everyone has to tighten their belts, as evidenced by the increasing number of empty storefronts on city streets. Empty storefronts also mean people who have lost their jobs. Currently, it is important to realize that each of us directly affects the future of our employer with our habits. Despite the fact that the report of the Public Services Market Commission (SPRK) on the Baltic electricity market in 2022 shows that electricity consumption in Latvia has decreased by 3.75%, electricity prices have increased significantly and we still need to pay more attention to where and how we spend energy resources.
We are getting higher and higher energy bills at home, and the same is happening in businesses. It is important for everyone to feel secure about the future, so it is in the interests of every working person that their employer is successful in the long term and able to pay for the work they do. This is the moment when everyone has to step in to help their business overcome difficulties, for example by changing their consumption habits. It’s hard – changing deep-rooted habits requires coercion, so you have to have a pretty strong motivation to change something. But what motivates us is knowledge and the realization that we can significantly influence what is happening around us with our actions. Therefore, the key to successful behavior change and employee involvement in the company’s cost-saving measures is education.
Energy audit – to understand what we consume and how much it costs. If we don’t know how much we consume and how much it costs, we don’t know if it needs to be changed. Therefore, it is important to be aware of your consumer profile, and an energy audit helps us to do this.
Electricity is one of the biggest cost items. Energy efficiency, or the ability to do the same thing with less electricity, is what makes us more sustainable. The need to regularly conduct energy audits for large companies is also determined by law if they do not work with the ISO standard. The advantage of the energy audit is the opportunity to attract competent specialists and receive an objective evaluation of the company’s performance, as well as recommendations for growth. It is not a one-day or one-year event – promoting sustainability is a never-ending process, in which you must constantly take care of the introduction of processes that are more friendly to the environment and people.
Small changes in habits – big changes in energy consumption. The environment around us is arranged in such a way that it is more convenient to act inefficiently. For example, when leaving a room, you should remember to turn off the light and unplug devices that are not in use, but this is not convenient. Therefore, it is important to create a working environment that is more convenient for everyday use, as well as energy efficient.
Lighting should be equipped with motion sensors in rooms where employees are not constantly present. If this is not possible, at least remind about saving by putting a reminder to turn off the light on the light switches. It is easier to remember what is in front of the eyes. Likewise, in today’s free market conditions, everyone can choose the type of electricity supply, supplier and tariff that best suits their operating style, which often allows for significant cost reductions. It is valuable for both companies and individuals to know their consumption habits and choose the tariff that is most advantageous in the busiest period.
Electrical appliances that we use on a daily basis can also provide significant savings – when buying a new appliance, it is worth paying attention not only to its price, but also to energy consumption. It is not worth buying cheaper if you will have to overpay for its use during the life cycle of the device. Even such seemingly small things as a closed refrigerator door or only heating the necessary amount of water instead of a full kettle can be noticeably reflected in the electricity bill.
Saving should not be forgotten about health. During the day, if there is enough daylight, one can consider going completely without electricity. Here, however, the exception is workplaces and desks, which must be adequately lit.
No measure of austerity is worth so much as to damage health. People are the most important, and this should not be forgotten, neither by saving electricity, nor by using the air conditioner, nor by choosing the intensity of the heating. Each degree is equivalent to about 5% on the utility bill. However, a balance must be maintained between a comfortable working environment, which is neither too cold nor too hot, and cost-saving measures. Much more valuable than drastically reducing the heat in the office premises would be to avoid making fundamental mistakes, such as running the air conditioning with open windows in the summer or trying to cool down the room because it is overheated in the winter.
Ventilation is important for air quality, but it should be done properly – by opening the window wide for a short time, not by keeping it open just a little for a long time and losing heat. Another option worth considering is the use of an air conditioner for space heating – it is about three times more economical than electric heaters and one kilowatt of electricity can produce three or even more kilowatts of heat.
Electricity should also be saved outdoors. The company’s energy consumption does not end at the front door – in most cases it is also the lighting of the outdoor area, facade signs, light boxes, etc. These solutions should not be forgotten either, and it is not just a story about LED bulbs – you can choose effective control solutions for outdoor lighting, for example the same motion sensors that brighten the lighting when necessary, or light sensors that turn on the facade lighting when it starts to get dark, and turns off when it gets light enough outside.
Unlike our habits that cost nothing, various future technology solutions require some investment. We are always on the lookout and there are bound to be more and more ways to save as we become more sustainable. Solar energy is developing rapidly, and it operates sufficiently powerfully in Latvia. If installing your own panels does not pay off, you can look for solutions together with your neighbors. Also, the opportunities provided by wind energy should not be underestimated, especially near the sea. It is also worth thinking about how to use your already used energy, such as indoor heat, not simply to blow it into the air, but to heat water. The long-term beneficiaries will be those who know how to reuse the by-products of their operations in effective ways.
The author is SIA Reitan Convenience Latvia (Narvesen and Caffeine) Director of the Development Department
