Buildings can be very wasteful today. They consume large amounts of energy, and they can produce a sizable amount of waste. This mostly comes from their need to control temperature and provide comfort for their tenants. As a building manager, you shouldn’t allow your building to be so inefficient since it can mean higher bills for you. Better procedures or processes can ensure that your building is better when it comes to reducing waste.
Do an Audit
One of the things that you should do is to audit your systems. These include your plumbing, HVAC, and other primary systems. Your goal is to see how much do you use when it comes to the various needs of the building.
For example, your audit will notice the amount of water you are using every day. If you see an abnormally high amount, then you need to take action and check whether the water is legitimately being used. Do the same for your building’s electrical consumption and gas consumption.
Do Preventative Maintenance
The primary reason why your building is so inefficient is that your building’s various systems are in a poor state. For example, your building might be losing hundreds of gallons of water annually because of a leaky faucet. This is why it is necessary to regularly check for problems and conduct regular maintenance. This ensures that your systems are in excellent condition.
Train Your People
The human factor should also not be ignored. Your staff should know how to properly use the equipment and systems that you have in place. Your team should be able to use your systems without wasting anything. Your staff should also be trained to do the proper maintenance so that everything runs smoothly. Create multiple teams that will specialize in various aspects of building maintenance so that you can have fewer worries.
Integrate New Technologies
The great thing about the constant march of technology is that it can improve a variety of your systems. For example, HVAC systems from ten years ago are much more inefficient than the ones being used today. An upgrade to a new system can pay for itself. Additionally, building automation in Utah and other states has been quite successful in ensuring that various systems are maintained and operated correctly. It can activate and deactivate the multiple parts of the system, which leads to better operation.
Meet LEED Standards
Following the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards is a great way to ensure efficiency. These standards are all about saving energy and respecting the environment. This is done by increasing the efficiency of the building when it comes to energy usage. The results are bigger savings because of lower operating costs.
In the end, you should remember that increasing building efficiency is a worthy goal. An efficient building is beneficial to both tenants and owners because of the better performance of the systems. The tips above should greatly help in ensuring that your building is as efficient as possible.
