This Wednesday, October 2nd is the fourth annual Energy Efficiency Day around the United States, and to celebrate and help spread awareness of this growing initiative, we thought we would highlight our own Energy Circle offices in Portland, Maine with a short video. Watch below to find out a few ways the EC team works to reduce our daily energy usage, as well as our goals for even further improvement.
What We’ve Already Done for #EEDay2019
New Energy Efficient HVAC Systems
We have installed an advanced, all electric Fujitsu VRF heat pump heating and cooling system, as well as an integrated, high efficiency heat recovery ventilation (HRV) system from Ventacity that maintains a high quality indoor environment. The electricity savings from a high efficiency system have more than offset the slightly higher initial cost that our landlord passed on to us, and we can keep track of how clean our indoor air is using an indoor air quality monitor called a FooBot.
Laptops Over Desktops
According to the EPA, new energy efficient laptops can consume anywhere from 50–80% less energy than a desktop. The batteries in our (almost!) office-wide laptop computers allow us to work from anywhere, while saving energy when they are not plugged in.
Using an Office Dishwasher
Did you know that if you wanted to wash your dishes under a running faucet as efficiently as a dishwasher can, you would need to wash 8 full table settings in under two minutes? To clean the dishes from our lunch each day, we use an ENERGY STAR® rated dishwasher, which uses much less energy than washing those same dishes by hand.
All LED Lighting
Each of our overhead lights utilizes LED light bulbs, which use 25-80% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, and last 3-25 times as long! Plus, when it is a sunny day here in Maine, we utilize the natural light coming in our windows!
Regular Composting and Recycling
And of course, we make sure to recycle our trash locally, and compost our food through Portland’s Garbage to Garden program. According to Recycle Across America, Americans throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12 foot high wall from Seattle to all the way to New York.
Don’t Forget About the Little Things!
Improving your energy efficiency doesn’t have to be a grand gesture either. A few of the less obvious ways we save include:
Cutting down on paper usage with “all-digital” file-sharing services like Google Docs
Turning off lights and appliances when not in use
Ditching the water cooler for a point-of-use water purification system
Investing in reusable water bottles and coffee mugs (thank you, Coffee By Design!)
Through our personal work habits as well as our digital marketing services, Energy Circle is committed to reducing our collective carbon footprint and helping to slow the effects of climate change. But we can always do more, and a big part of Energy Efficiency Day is not only patting yourself on the back for the initiatives already in place, but also challenging yourself and your office to make sure that by Energy Efficiency Day 2020 you’ve raised the bar!
Areas Where We Can Improve
A few of the areas we’ve already identified for improvement include:
Condensation on certain office windows
Office corner air leakage
Leakage around some office windows
Leaky skylight during very windy days
Sealing up air leaks around windows, and maybe even upgrading the insulation in certain exterior walls, would reduce our monthly energy bills and could make a pronounced difference to our overall comfort in the office.
Join us on Energy Efficiency Day by visiting energyefficiency.org to learn what you can do to make your own office more energy efficient and environmentally responsible.
Looking for a digital marketing company dedicated to energy efficiency? Contact us here to learn more about Energy Circle.