Today's homes use significantly less energy than their counterparts 100 years ago. Part of this is government regulation, the other half is that saving energy around the house is something just about everyone is concious about. We turn off lights and appliances when we aren't using them. Homes these days have become quite efficient in the amount of resources they require. The interiors are made tight to minimize air infiltration. New window designs minimize heat loss. We all know that new appliance designs have made energy savings a priority.
The flip side of this coin is commercial buildings, where the same attention to conservation is definitely lacking. I guess part of this has to do with the fact that "someone else" is paying the bill. I encounter all sorts of wasteful things in my journeys around. Here's some of the things I have noticed
Large, gaping holes and gaps between un-conditioned and conditioned space. For example, At one job site I was at, conduit was run through the parking garage below the floor. Where the conduit came up, a siginifcantly larger hole than the conduit was bored, and not back-filled. Un-conditioned air was leaking in by the ton. One would never tolerate massive holes (and the subsequent drafts) in their own home.
Large expanses of single-glazed windows. Yes, big windows look nice and really make a building look modern. Although regulations exist in how much energy can pass through a residental window, similar building codes do not exist for commercial property.
Leaving lights and other equipment on when not in use. The typical office uses just as much power during business hours as it does after hours. Workers leave computers on 24-7, along with printers, FAX machines, and the lights overhead. Many retail venues leave their parking lot lights on all night despite the fact the business is closed for most of that time.
Reckless use of water: We've all seen lawn sprinkler systems on during the middle of rainstorms. Water is wasted in all sorts of ways
We cannot forget the amount of food wasted, and considering this is the holidays, it's really a shame that all the uneaten food prepared goes in the trash when there are hungry people around. I was at a lawyer's office in DC working on a sound system, they were had a huge banquet, but not all the food was eaten. It sat on sternos for another hour when an orderly came by and emptied the trays into a big trash barrel
Many businesses, for instance, Radio Shack, Circuit City, Verizon communications, and many others are constantly "renovating" among many others. Many businesses change their appearance like underwear. While it makes good business for contractors and builders, it is terribly wasteful. I have made significant renovations using materials I have found in construction dumpsters....perfectly fine materials that were just "old".
I have always wondered why homes and residental areas are always picked on so much for saving energy, when there is so much wastefulness in the commercial and industrial world out there. Forevery watt we save by installing compact fluorescent lights and turning them off, there's a computer or a light left on in an office building. I like saving energy as much as the next person does, but to me, if we really want to get off of foreign oil, we should be performing "energy audits" on our commercial buildings, and making them as efficient as our homes. Yes, it would initally cost money, but in the long run, I believe it would be beneficial to businesses because the savings could be significant!
Being an employee of a small business, we are doing just that. We are turning lights and office equipment off after hours. The HVAC system now has setback thermostats. In our 30-employee office, we have saved close to $500 a month off the electric bill! We would need to run several service calls to turn that sort of raw prophit! Our boss has distributed questionaires and inspired discussion as to how we can save energy around the office, and so far we have come up with many good ideas. He has asked us to look for leaky windows and doors, and other drafts too. It will be quite interesting to see how much more energy we save as they are implemented, but I imagine they will be very beneficial
The flip side of this coin is commercial buildings, where the same attention to conservation is definitely lacking. I guess part of this has to do with the fact that "someone else" is paying the bill. I encounter all sorts of wasteful things in my journeys around. Here's some of the things I have noticed
Large, gaping holes and gaps between un-conditioned and conditioned space. For example, At one job site I was at, conduit was run through the parking garage below the floor. Where the conduit came up, a siginifcantly larger hole than the conduit was bored, and not back-filled. Un-conditioned air was leaking in by the ton. One would never tolerate massive holes (and the subsequent drafts) in their own home.
Large expanses of single-glazed windows. Yes, big windows look nice and really make a building look modern. Although regulations exist in how much energy can pass through a residental window, similar building codes do not exist for commercial property.
Leaving lights and other equipment on when not in use. The typical office uses just as much power during business hours as it does after hours. Workers leave computers on 24-7, along with printers, FAX machines, and the lights overhead. Many retail venues leave their parking lot lights on all night despite the fact the business is closed for most of that time.
Reckless use of water: We've all seen lawn sprinkler systems on during the middle of rainstorms. Water is wasted in all sorts of ways
We cannot forget the amount of food wasted, and considering this is the holidays, it's really a shame that all the uneaten food prepared goes in the trash when there are hungry people around. I was at a lawyer's office in DC working on a sound system, they were had a huge banquet, but not all the food was eaten. It sat on sternos for another hour when an orderly came by and emptied the trays into a big trash barrel
Many businesses, for instance, Radio Shack, Circuit City, Verizon communications, and many others are constantly "renovating" among many others. Many businesses change their appearance like underwear. While it makes good business for contractors and builders, it is terribly wasteful. I have made significant renovations using materials I have found in construction dumpsters....perfectly fine materials that were just "old".
I have always wondered why homes and residental areas are always picked on so much for saving energy, when there is so much wastefulness in the commercial and industrial world out there. Forevery watt we save by installing compact fluorescent lights and turning them off, there's a computer or a light left on in an office building. I like saving energy as much as the next person does, but to me, if we really want to get off of foreign oil, we should be performing "energy audits" on our commercial buildings, and making them as efficient as our homes. Yes, it would initally cost money, but in the long run, I believe it would be beneficial to businesses because the savings could be significant!
Being an employee of a small business, we are doing just that. We are turning lights and office equipment off after hours. The HVAC system now has setback thermostats. In our 30-employee office, we have saved close to $500 a month off the electric bill! We would need to run several service calls to turn that sort of raw prophit! Our boss has distributed questionaires and inspired discussion as to how we can save energy around the office, and so far we have come up with many good ideas. He has asked us to look for leaky windows and doors, and other drafts too. It will be quite interesting to see how much more energy we save as they are implemented, but I imagine they will be very beneficial
