Invest in Energy Efficiency
An energy audit will help you figure out which investments will have the greatest energy and cost savings gains. Numerous resources are available to help businesses identify cost-effective efficiency investments.
- Energy Star offers a wealth of information to help businesses improve the efficiency of their buildings.
- The Best Practices Program of the US Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program provides a number of resources and publications to help industrial plants implement energy management practices.
- The Sustainable Oregon Energy Efficiency Toolkit walks you through five simple steps to implementing an energy efficiency plan.
- Energy Trust of Oregon provides technical assistance and cash incentives for improving the energy efficiency of industrial, water and wastewater treatment processes; for commercial and industrial new construction and major renovation projects; and to install more efficient equipment in existing facilities.
- Most utilities, including Portland General Electric and Pacific Power provide energy efficiency tools for businesses.
Some energy efficiency investments that businesses have found to be particularly cost-effective include:
- Replace existing equipment with more energy efficient models – look for Energy Star models.
- Improve efficiency of heating and cooling. Make sure that your building is properly insulated and that it has thermal-paned windows. Make sure that you have a modern, energy-efficient heating and cooling system and maintain it regularly.
- Maintain your equipment to keep it running smoothly.
- Improve building efficiency. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, buildings that have been certified by Energy Star use 35% less energy than the average building and pay $2.00 less per square foot on their utility bills.
