5 Ways to Make Your Commercial Building Sustainable
2 min.
With increasing awareness of environmental issues, sustainability has become a critical priority worldwide. For commercial property owners and managers, embracing sustainable practices can lead to significant benefits, including cost savings, enhanced property value, and a positive impact on your carbon footprint. There are numerous ways to make your commercial building more eco-friendly, below, you’ll find 5 effective strategies to help transform your property to become sustainable.
1. Energy efficient lighting and HVAC system
Replacing traditional lighting with LED or other energy-efficient options can help reduce your energy consumption. As a result, lowering your building energy bill. Lighting can also be set up to be automated, turning off and on during working hours or even motion sensors.
Upgrading your HVAC system to a more efficient model can reduce your energy consumption and cost but can also lower the building’s carbon footprint. Newer more efficient models provide advanced controls that can be used to automatically adjust the HVAC system based on the occupancy, resulting in less energy waste.
2. Install renewable energy sources
Generating your own on-site electricity through wind turbines, solar power, hydroelectric, or even bioenergy can reduce the building’s dependence on non-renewable energy sources like fossil fuels. On-site electricity generation tends to have a high initial cost but leads to long-term cost savings. Additionally, using your own generated energy can reduce the carbon footprint of the building.
3. Use low-flow plumbing fixtures
One of the best ways to reduce water usage is changing to low-flow water fixtures such as toilets, faucets, sinks, and other fixtures. Low-flow devices work by reducing the amount of water required for day-to-day use while still providing enough water to do the job. Here are some different types of options available:
High-efficiency toilets (HETs)
Dual-flush toilets
Pressure-assist toilets
Waterless urinals
Touchless faucets
Low-flow aerators
4. Conduct regular energy audits
An important step in helping commercial property managers and owners run a more sustainable building is to conduct regular energy audits. These audits involve reviewing the energy consumption of the building to identify areas of inefficiency or waste to then develop an improvement plan.
Creating an improvement plan for better energy efficiency can include upgrading or installing energy-efficient lighting, HVAC systems, insulation, sealing air leaks, and more. Improving energy efficiency can reduce energy consumption which can lead to reduced utility costs and carbon footprint of the building.
Energy audits can also help property managers and owners identify opportunities to add renewable energy source infrastructure such as solar and wind.
5. Use smart building technology solutions
Smart building technologies are tools that help automate the processes to manage and control its operations such as HVAC, lighting, security, and more. Smart buildings that automatically respond to changes assist facility managers in better-managing resources, space and energy more efficiently.
When deciding to convert your building to become smart there are a lot of different products and tools that can be utilized, but it’s important to identify what stakeholders, including owners, property and building managers and occupants need.
By investing in energy efficiency, adopting renewable energy sources, utilizing smart building technologies, and switching to high-efficiency fixtures, you can significantly reduce your building’s environmental footprint. These efforts enhance your property's value and appeal to eco-conscious tenants. Every small step counts and collectively leads to a more sustainable future for all.
Reference
Kaminski, B. (2020, November 12). Low-flow water fixtures make sense for your office building. Sobieski Services | DE, NJ, PA, MD. https://www.sobieskiinc.com/blog/low-flow-water-fixtures-make-sense-your-office-building/#:~:text=Toilets%2C%20faucets%2C%20sinks%20and%20other,to%20get%20the%20job%20done
Ling, D. (2023, June 2). 10 ways to make commercial buildings more sustainable. Inovis Energy, Inc. https://www.inovisenergy.com/10-ways-property-managers-can-make-commercial-buildings-more-sustainable/
What is a smart building? technology solutions & examples. Avigilon. (n.d.). https://www.avigilon.com/blog/smart-building-technology
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