30% – that’s the approximate amount of energy wasted by commercial buildings, manufacturing facilities and educational institutions as per a report by eEnergy. This staggering number opens up a lot of questions about the precious money lost due to this wastage and also brings us to the question, ‘Are our living spaces as energy-efficient as we think they are?’
Beyond just an emerging trend, maintaining energy efficiency in homes and offices is an important exercise to ensure your property is not wasting power along with your hard-earned money. Conserving energy not only saves you money on your heating and cooling bills but also makes your home more comfortable.
In this article, let us explore the 4 common sources of energy leaks in your property and how you can fix them.
1. Doors
Air escaping from your home or commercial property contributes significantly to energy loss and can reflect as much as 10 to 20 per cent in your energy bills.
Air can slip through the gaps or cracks at the bottom of your doors and this wastage can also take place even if you have all your windows shut. To prevent this wastage, it becomes more crucial than ever to fix gaps and cracks by weatherstripping and carrying out other timely essential door repairs to stop the leaks.
How Can You Fix This?
Commercial buildings usually have automatic doors to regulate heavy footfall traffic. While this is a great step to reduce energy consumption, damaged or poorly maintained doors can lead to an increase in your energy consumption.
By regularly maintaining your automatic doors through a reliable technician or door repair service provider, you can prevent air leaks and maximise the energy efficiency of your commercial property.
Check your neighbourhood or conduct a quick online search for reliable and cost-effective door repair services for automatic doors. If your business is based out of Northamptonshire, a quick online search for automatic door repairs in Northamptonshire should fetch the desired results.
2. Lighting
You may not have realised it, but lighting consumes maximum energy in commercial spaces. Most businesses work round-the-clock needing lights to always be powered on to prevent interrupting the workflow. If your business uses traditional lights and lighting systems, it can lead to high power bills and energy inefficiency.
How Can You Fix This?
To check on the power wastage, go for a routine Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessment highlighting the sources consuming more energy on your property. The EPC test report provides recommendations for improvements that, when implemented correctly, can improve your residential or commercial property’s energy efficiency.
Look for service providers in your area for better maintenance and timely checks. Let’s say your property is in Essex, look for service providers offering EPC in Essex for swift EPC checks.
Additionally, for homes or office spaces, choose LEDs over traditional incandescent lights, which are not only easy on your pocket but also lower your energy usage over time.
3. Insulation
Good insulation acts like a safety barrier preventing heat from entering or escaping from your home. When your home’s heat is maintained at a constant temperature, you know your heating and cooling system is working perfectly.
The problem arises when the insulation is poorly maintained leading to heat escaping through the walls and the roof. Regardless of how high your heating setting is, with inadequate insulation your home can feel too cold during the winter months, which will also reflect on your power bills.
How Can You Fix This?
An infrared thermal scan of your home done by a professional can help you understand the source of leaks in your insulation. The immediate remedial action is to fix the insulation in the wall, floor and loft areas.
You can also take an additional step and draught-proof your windows, doors, chimneys, and floors.
Insulating hot water tanks, pipes and radiators can also help you save up on your heating bills.
4. Air Ducts
In your home, air ducts carry heated air from your heater throughout your house, but without adequate insulation or sealing, this heat can escape through the gaps or cracks before reaching the destination room. This can lead to energy wastage and your home being unevenly heated or cooled.
How Can You Fix This?
To prevent further air leakages, you can remedy this by carefully taping and sealing the gaps and cracks in the air ducts. You can either do this yourself or entrust this job to a professional technician.
In Conclusion
The most positive impact of living in an energy-efficient home is making a small contribution to the betterment of the environment. To ensure you keep reaping the economic and environmental rewards of your vital decision, you may want to identify any leaks or gaps leading to energy wastage in your property.
That said, an energy-efficient property is all about providing a comfortable living space while keeping your expenses down. When you see the amount of energy and power being wasted from your property through the tests mentioned above, you can take prompt action to reduce further energy wastage.
When done meticulously, these checks can keep your energy bills down, save you money and also create a positive impact on the environment.
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