Business Electricity Saving Calculator

Business Electricity Saving Calculator

Where is electricity being wasted in your business now? How much electricity and money can be saved?
Where can a new competitive advantage be created? How can my next operational efficiency be reached?
Calculate what you can save here. In 5 minutes you could learn to save $1000s or $10000s every year and help the environment.

Fill in the sections where you can make changes to save electricity. Click on Get Results buttons to find out your savings. See electricity savings, money saved, water saved and CO2 reduction. A detailed results area shows where you should concentrate your energy efficiency efforts.

Business Electricity Saving Questions

Description	Quantity
Business Electricity Cost in Dollars (or local currency) per kWh example 0.18
Off Peak Electricity Cost in Dollars (or local currency) per kWh example 0.10
Year Electricity Cost in Dollars (or local currency) example 12000
Total New Lighting hours per day using Compact Fluorescent Lights instead of incandescent or halogen lights.Total = Light 1 x hours + Light 2 x hours ... Also consider replacing halogen lights fittings for miniature CFL (this requires an electrician)
Total New Lighting hours per day using Compact Fluorescent Lights floodlights instead of incandescent floodlights PAR38 .Total = Light 1 x hours + Light 2 x hours ... Also consider solar external lighting running dusk to dawn.
Total fluroescent tube lighting hours per day now using electronic ballasts and lower wattage tubes for the same light output. Electronic ballasts can control 1,2,3,4 tubes. Total = Light tube 1 x hours + Light tube 2 x hours ...
Surplus fridges are turned off. Number of fridges turned off for the majority of the year.
Water Efficient Shower Heads fitted. Showers per day using water efficient shower heads. Try to limit showers to 4 minutes.
Water Efficient Tap Aerators fitted. Minutes per day using new taps. Fix any tap leaks promptly.
Computer/s now has Computer Power Management enabled. E.g. S3 Sleep or Hibernation if idle for 30 minutes. Number of computers.
Laptop/s now has Computer Power Management enabled (in battery and mains power modes). Number of laptops.
Computer/s replaced by thin clients.This is for companies that have over 20 computers using the same regular applications. Number of computers.
New server being provisioned as a virtual server. Existing server being replaced by virtual server. Server role being provisioned by remote virtual server. Number of servers.
New Insulation fitted on ceiling to local recommended standards. Click in checkbox if insulation is planned or completed.
Heated or cooled rooms are sealed. Doors closed to reduce volume being conditioned. Draft Stoppers fitted to door, windows sealed, exhaust fans have seals when not in use. Click in checkbox if activity is planned or recently completed.
Conventional cooling towers fitted with off peak ice storage units. Save 95% in peak power needed. Ice creation is more efficient at night with lower ambient temperatures. Click in checkbox to see how much savings are possible.

Press button after completing or adjusting fields in the top table. Results below.

Local links: Homepage , Energy Efficiency Section , Efficiency eBook

Electricity Saving Strategy

Look at the detailed results. Which business electricity saving activities should be completed first? More accuracy can be made using the specialised Energy Calculators. Affordable energy meters are available for power points and buildings. See reviews in Energy Efficiency section.
Consider: Installing accurate power measurement including recording daily consumption totals, researching business efficiency options, creating a proposal with expected return on investment, running a pilot test efficiency program if required, rolling out the full efficiency program and showing the savings results in change of consumption with daily totals.
Some small efficiency projects could see savings results in under 1 week. Once small projects show measured success then larger project can be pursued.

Business Electricity Saving Calculation of Year Results

Power Saved kWh	Money Saved $$$	Water saving in litres	Carbon Footprint reduced CO2 kg

How much does the Business Electricity Saving Calculator potentially save you?

Save Electricity Detailed Yearly Results

Detailed results show up here.

Saving Electricity Calculation Assumptions

Compact Fluorescent light uses 13 watts. Incandescent light was using 75 watts. See Light Energy Calculator for more information.
Each surplus fridge uses 700 kWh of energy in a year.
Fluroescent Tubes 1200 mm magnetic ballast 36 watts, Fluroescent Tubes 1200 mm electronic ballast 24 watts
Par 38 Floodlight 125 Watts, CFL Par 38 Floodlight 23 Watts.
Each litre of water takes 0.052 kWh to heat.
Water efficient shower head uses 9 litres per minute. Old shower head uses 20 litres per minute. Average Shower lasts for 5 minutes. Shower is using 50% hot water.
Water efficient tap aerator uses 5 litres per minute. Old taps uses 20 litres per minute. Tap is running 50% hot water.
Computer power management enabled reduces computer power consumption by up to 38%. Computer uses 200 watts when on. Assume computer is left on.
Laptop uses 50 watts when on. Assume laptop is left on. See Computer Energy Calculator for more information.
Thin clients use 15 watts when on.
Servers uses about 300 watts all the time. Reducing physical servers also reduce cooling requirements by about 300 watts each.
Computer peripherals even in standby consume power. Assume 30 watts total standby unless switched off at the wall.
Insulation can reduce cooling and heating costs by up to 30%. Assume 40% of electricity used is for heating or cooling.
Up to 30% more in heating and cooling energy can be saved with simple draft stopping practices.
Carbon footprint based on 1 kWh makes 1 kg of CO2 from a coal thermal electricity plant.

Further Considerations for Saving Electricity

Do you feel more savings could be achieved?
Consider having all halogen lights to be replaced with either LED lights or replacing the fitting for a miniature compact fluorescent light. Save 80% in power.
Can electronic ballasts be fitted to fluorescent tube lights and save up to 33% in power? See Light Energy Calculator
Is your fridge or freezer over 10 years old? Efficiency of these appliances have improved over time. Can a single larger fridge/freezer replace many smaller fridges?
Consider altering pump hours per day relative to the seasons and needs.
Can task lighting be used instead of general room lighting?
Virtual servers can reduce your physical server count by 10 to 1.Virtual servers can be moved automatically when activity is low and turn off even more physical servers.
Can air conditioned or heated areas be segmented to reduce volume and energy consumption.
Can countdown timers be used for various appliances including air conditioners?
Can reverse cycle air conditioning be used instead of electric element heating devices?
Can solar hot water be introduced? See Solar Hot Water Calculator

Can solar power be introduced? See Solar Power Calculator
Cogeneration is the use of gas used for bonus free electricity generation then using the heat for hot water heating or room heating. About 1/3 of a watt electricity is created for every 1 watt in gas heating.

To get a better understanding of energy consumption requires real time measurement.
Power point energy meters can be bought for $25.
Building energy meters can be bought for $100 (3 phase are $150).
Examples of these devices are reviewed in the Energy Efficiency Section

Where is your business energy consumption going?