By Jennifer Brink, FPL Energy Expert
Florida Construction News special feature
Did you know energy consumption is one of the biggest overhead costs for businesses, regardless of size or industry? From powering job sites to running office equipment, construction businesses’ energy use can add up quickly. That’s why it’s important to find ways to manage your usage effectively to save money on your energy bill.
At Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), we offer a solution that makes it easier than ever to see where you’re using energy and how you can save: the FPL Business Energy Manager (BEM). Now, you can monitor, analyze and calculate your energy bill with this free online tool, built to better track and control your energy use. With just a little information from you, the Business Energy Manager will show you what, where and why of your business’ energy use.
Here’s how to harness the full potential of the Business Energy Manager and all it has to offer so you can start saving today.
Reveal trends in your energy usage
To get the most out of the Business Energy Manager, you should first complete the Energy Breakdown Survey, which asks questions about your business to deliver a more personalized experience. For example, a construction company that operate a variety of heavy machinery, power tools, and lighting systems, can identify patterns and trends in energy usage to better understand how to lower its monthly bills.
You’ll answer questions related to your business’ details such as the type of thermostat you have and what percentage of your facility is cooled by air conditioning equipment. The survey aims to inspect your energy usage, provide valuable tips on how to maximize your energy efficiency and offer energy solutions specific to your needs.
Gain valuable insights specific to your business
Once you take the survey, the Business Energy Manager will provide customized recommendations to save energy and money. From there, you’ll be able to answer the following question: Where are your energy dollars being spent? The tool is designed to give you a detailed look at where you are spending energy and what appliances or equipment are costing you the most. The platform is broken down into categories such as cooling, lighting, heating, and more — so you can learn how to use less and save more.
These insights will allow you to live more sustainably by tracking down which parts of your business are using the most energy and will target these areas by offering specific energy-saving tips. For example, the platform might call out excessive energy use during non-operational hours or suggest upgrades to more energy-efficient equipment.
Whether you’re looking to optimize operations or reduce costs, implementing these suggestions can drive tangible results for your business and cut down costs. Moreover, by tracking energy usage over time, you can tweak your strategy for maximum savings. This approach helps reduce operational costs and contributes to a more sustainable business model.
Learn ways to save
The best part is the Business Energy Manager will provide specific energy saving tips based on your unique energy-use patterns, helping you to improve your efficiency on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Below are just a few ways you can get started now to save up to $500 a year.
- Installing occupancy sensors in rooms in your facility that are not always in use could reduce your total lighting costs by 15%.
- Replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs is a great way to save. Choose Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) bulbs which use 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer. Better yet, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs use 85% less energy than incandescent ones – saving you about $70 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
- Don’t forget about signage: replacing incandescent bulbs in exit signs with LEDs saves about 80% on signage operating costs. If LEDs are not compatible with your current sign, investing in a new sign could offer cost savings significant enough to cover its own expense within a year.
- Save up to 30% by using smart power strips to regulate energy use on equipment such as power tools, computers, copiers and printers.
- Enable the sleep mode on office computers to achieve savings up to $20 per year for each computer.
- Use up to 30% less energy when you switch to a fluorescent lighting system that operates with energy-efficient electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ones.
- Save about 20% on lighting energy use by installing bi-level switching to control lighting.
- Cut lighting energy use by up to 30% using timers or setting up a scheduling system to control lights on a predictable schedule.
- Programmable thermostats can be helpful by reducing air conditioning during unoccupied hours.
At FPL, our goal is to help businesses unlock substantial savings with the Business Energy Manager. We hope you find these tips helpful to optimize operations, cut costs and enhance sustainability.
Visit FPL.com/mybusiness to learn more.
Jennifer Brink is a senior business specialist and program manager with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). She has more than 25 years of experience in energy efficiency, including overseeing FPL’s Business Energy Manager, a free tool which helps customers track, analyze and monitor their business energy usage.