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Cut Your Organization’s Energy Costs

                                                            …a guide for planning

Rising energy costs impact each of us at home and at the office. To make things even tougher, it’s estimated that the world’s energy usage will increase up to 53% in the next 20 years – and that’s if no big electronic inventions fundamentally change the world’s energy usage like Internet, cell phones and iPods have!

While all sorts of alternative energy sources are now being seriously discussed and evaluated for widespread future use, it’s clear that the most important source of future energy will not be a specific alternative energy source at all. What will impact us most will be increasing our own EFFICIENCY when using all types of energy. Cutting energy use, the creation of more efficient equipment and appliances, and developing new ways to use existing sources of energy will be the major waythatyou and I will contribute to lowering our own overall energy costs.

A good example of this is to replace just one incandescent light bulb with one compact fluorescent lamp (CFL):
CFL’s use about ¼ the electricity used by a comparable incandescent light bulb. If one 100 watt bulb were on for 12 hours/day for a year, and electricity cost $.12 per kwh in Denver, CO, the CFL would cost $15.52 per year to run vs. $52.56 for the incandescent bulb – a difference of $37.04 per year.

This is only one lightbulb over one year’s time!Multiply this number by the number of light bulbs in your own office using the utility rate on your own electric bill and you begin to get a sense for the amount of money we may be able to save through efficiency. (Just to put this into perspective across the nation -- in some of Alaska’s villages, that one lightbulb – even after it’s replaced by a CFL -- would cost you an additional $41 per year to run. It’s clear that energy costs are truly choking the life out of many of our nonprofits nationwide!)

The bad news is that by 2030, just 20 years away, it’s estimated that energy costs could increase by more than 300% over today’s prices, so there doesn’t appear to be any relief on the horizon.
But the “good news” is how we can help ourselves and our organizations, beginning today.  Let’s look at where to start: 

Before you focus specifically on energy, read “Tips for Tightening Your Organization’s Budget” in this Exchange issue for an overall guide to cutting costs. The Cost Savings Triage Worksheet in the article can also be utilized for energy savings, either combined with other cost cutting ideas or separately.

Here’s a collection of tips and things to remember about energy-related costs:

SHORT-TERM:

• “Phantom loads” occur with most equipment– even when they’re turned off, they draw energy. 70% the electricity used to power home electronics is used when they’re turned OFF! Turning off a plug strip or unplugging the equipment at the wall is the easiest way to eliminate phantom loads.
  
• Turn it off! Plug computers, printers, adding machines, staplers at each desk into a power strip that you flip off before you leave work each day. Even your phone can be handled this way if you don’t need to be able to accept phone messages after hours.
  
• Laptop computers are much cheaper to run than desktops, but the phantom load on the power supply means it should be unplugged whenever not directly needed to power or recharge the laptop.
  
• Implement policy changes to eliminate individual refrigerators, coffee pots, and space heaters in the office. You may need to adjust dress codes slightly to allow employees to dress for the office climate conditions, and be sure to provide a central refrigerator and coffee pot for staff use. Don’t allow employees to use company vehicles for personal travel, or to commute from home.
  
• Install programmable thermostats – You can save as much as 10-15% a year on your heating and cooling bills by setting your thermostat back 10-15% (from 70 to 60 degrees/heating and from 70/80 degrees/cooling, for instance) for 8 hours/day.
  
• Install clear plastic sheets over the inside of your windows, or install storm windows. Storm windows can reduce heat loss through windows by 25-50%.
  
• Close shades to keep heat or cold out; open shades on the south side to provide solar gain to assist your furnace in winter.
  
• Lighting: replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s). As your budget allows, replace even CFL’s with LED lamps. This new technology is still very expensive, but the energy savings is significant and the bulbs last much longer than even CFL’s.
  
• Using new lighting controls can cut your lighting energy use by 50-75%. Use photocell (turns off during the day) and motion sensor lighting controls wherever possible. Program outdoor signs to turn off between 11 p.m. & 6 a.m. – how much advertising are you really getting from your outdoor sign at 2 a.m.??  And don’t forget to take advantage of daylight!
  

Now let’s look at longer-term steps:

1. Buy appliances and equipment with an Energy Star designation.   These appliances use 50-90% less energy than conventional appliances, and these savings continue on for the life of the appliance. Energy Star computers use about 70% less energy than computers without ES designation. These computers will automatically enter a low-power mode after a designated time, so to take advantage of the energy savings, be sure this feature isn’t turned off.

2. Landscaping for energy savings – a well-placed tree can lower the temperature 3-6o in summer and save up to 25% of your normal cooling budget. If it’s a deciduous tree, it will still permit needed solar gain in the winter after the leaves have fallen. Plant trees, shrubs and vines as windbreaks where needed. This may require collaboration with your landlord – but remember, they are trying to cut energy costs as well.
   
3. Maintain your appliances. Drain a little water from your water heater every three months, dust the refrigerator coils and the computer vents, and have your furnace tuned up annually, for instance. Repair that running toilet or dripping faucet – these little annoyances add up to gallons and gallons of water over a week’s time.
   
4. Install low-flow devices on faucets.
   
5. Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120o or lower if there are no laws preventing it. Note: There may be a higher requirement for food service equipment.
   
6. Install insulated roman shades on exterior windows. These work to cut hot OR cold from entering. I cut my entire home heating bill by 40% the first winter we used Warm Windows on our double-paned windows. Joanne Fabrics carries the Warm Window fabric and instructions for constructing them.
   

There are grants, awards, and technical assistance available from a variety of sources that may be able to assist you in either assessing ways to cut your energy costs, supply an energy-efficient alternative, or provide funds to make needed changes. As you search for these programs, be sure to check the programs of your regional power company; public utilities; federal and state agencies; and private foundations.

Contact The Funding Exchange at info@fundingexchange.org for funding research services, or to request a discount coupon for a GrantStation database subscription.