Poor office lighting can be expensive to run

Poor office lighting can be expensive to run

Modern businesses want to go green and save energy, yet often, office buildings are lit up well into the small hours of the morning. Despite our best efforts, it’s difficult to break old habits, and the last one out doesn’t always switch off the lights like they’re supposed to.

Energy-efficient lighting systems will help any company successfully lower its energy bills, regardless of how long the lighting is switched on. The more money that is saved, the more cash there is that’s available to be channelled into other areas of the business, so it’s good news for profitability too.

Here are some energy-saving tips that your company might like to consider when thinking about lighting your office.

Take advantage of natural light

Most offices are lit during the day so people can see what they are doing, yet the sun’s light is available from dawn until dusk, and doesn’t cost a bean.

You can save energy by taking as much advantage of natural light as you can. Remove trees or bushes that are close to windows that may reduce your building’s exposure to sunlight. Have the windows cleaned regularly, and have old-fashioned tinted glass removed.

Arrange for a lighting audit

There are many different kinds of energy-saving lighting systems available – so many that it can be difficult to decide which are the best options for your particular building. MD Bespoke can make custom recommendations with no obligation to buy, so book us in for a site visit.

Our contractors will assess your current office lighting and ascertain how much light your employees need to be able to perform their tasks adequately. We will look at a range of solutions, repurposing existing equipment and making recommendations for new lights or changes to the positioning of the lights you have.

Install an energy-efficient lighting system

Most office lighting is achieved by using fluorescent tube lighting, which was fine as an energy-efficient solution in the past, but now has been completely overtaken by other solutions that are considerably more cost-effective. Any standard incandescent lights you may be using definitely need to be replaced.

The exact recommendation varies; what’s right for an atmospheric restaurant will clearly not work for an office. In general, though, we recommend replacing as many bulbs as possible with LEDs to save money. LEDs can be purchased in practically any colour, and with any fitting. There are even LED replacements for fluorescent tubes and halogen down lighters.

You can also install occupancy sensors in rooms that are not in continual use, such as bathrooms and conference rooms. This is a really effective way to ensure that lights are not left on overnight.

Why switch?

Saving energy is important, as is reducing your company’s carbon footprint. Happily, both these factors go hand in hand. When you save energy, you naturally decrease the amount of carbon you release into the atmosphere.

MD Bespoke Solutions will assess your lighting and recommend ways to save money. It could be the best investment you make this year.