Tips from SDG&E for your business

10 Easy Energy Savings Tips
What are the best and quickest ways for a business to save? Taking a few proactive steps to reduce energy usage can conserve natural resources, lower energy costs and save money:
Reduce lighting where possible and take advantage of natural daylight. Turning lights off or dimming them during the day allows for lower energy costs and a more comfortable environment. Also, remove excess lighting, and turn off signage and other lights not necessary for security and safety.
Install occupancy sensors. These inexpensive devices can reduce lighting costs by up to 40 percent by turning off lights in unoccupied areas.
Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which can last up to ten times longer. CFLs provide the same amount of (light) lumens as standard incandescent bulbs, but use up to 75 percent less energy.
Replace incandescent lights in exit signs with LED fixtures, which can reduce costs of these signs by up to 95 percent.
Adjust the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer and shut off when not in use. Even a few degrees can significantly reduce heating and air conditioning costs.
Install programmable thermostats or time clocks to automatically control temperature settings on heating and air conditioning equipment.
Turn off or set office equipment to power down when not in use. Turning off one computer and monitor nightly and on weekends can save up to $80 a year. And setting PCs, monitors and copiers to use sleep mode when not in use can help cut energy costs by up to 50 percent.
Lower the thermostat on your water heater. 120° F is sufficient for many common uses. A 10° F reduction can save up to 5 percent on water heating costs.
Invest in energy-efficient equipment. When upgrading or adding new equipment, look for the ENERGY STAR® symbol, which indicates the equipment meets federal standards for energy efficiency.
Call SDG&E about our energy efficiency services and rebates at (800) 644-6133.