Something other than ghosts and ghouls is causing fear this Halloween: wasted energy. For businesses, standby power can haunt an energy bill with high usage. Avoid any spooky tricks this month, and the rest of the year, with simple energy-saving practices for your business. 

Phantom loads are devices that keep using power, even when they are not being used. Before clocking out for the day, take a few extra minutes to check your space for any potential energy waste. These simple, low-cost measures can keep energy ghosts from haunting your business:

• Put the pumpkin grins to sleep – along with computers and other equipment. These devices are essential to business, however, when they operate at full power through the night, they waste energy. Help manage this by using the “sleep” setting on office equipment, which will keep devices readily available while only using small amounts of energy as they sit idle.  
• Eliminate vampire energy with power strips. Use a “smart” power strip to designate which plugged-in electronics should always be on, and which ones do not need power when not in use.  
• Skip the tricks and enjoy the treats from EnergyStar-certified equipment. Older office equipment lacks the bells and whistles – like power management settings. Upgrading to EnergyStar products can help achieve energy-efficiency goals, while possibly saving money and protecting the environment. A full list of appliances, electronics, smart thermostats and more are available on the I&M Marketplace website.
• Don’t fear the dark - install “occupant sensors” to control lighting. Also known as motion sensors, these devices detect the presence of people in a space and can automatically adjust the light needed, eliminating lights potentially being left on.
• Dare to test your energy efficiency knowledge. As we continue with October’s National Energy Awareness Month, take our quiz to see what you know about energy saving practices. You can even be entered to win an Amazon gift card. The deadline for this quiz has been extended through October 20.

Energy Management tools also provide business owners access to manage, track and optimize energy use with information provided by a Smart Meter. With these tools, analyzing energy costs and usage trends in both dollars and kWh can be done with ease. Business owners can also compare billing trends from previous months or years and view an energy consumption heat map to identify abnormal energy patterns.

Browse additional energy-saving tips for your business or home and find products, rebates and discounts to help kickstart your savings by visiting www.ElectricIdeas.com/Work.

Learn more about energy-saving practices, preparing your home for the cooler months ahead, understanding your energy use and more during October’s National Energy Awareness Month.

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