Though technology plays an important role in the way companies conduct business, relying too much on it can put it severely at risk.
What does that mean? It means the average company which has commercial lighting and lots of electronics is at heavy risk for power surges and other mishaps. A voltage surge is a sudden increase in voltage that can wreak havoc on an office. They can cause wires in electronic equipment to overheat and cause shortages of computers and servers. Voltage surges can occur at least once a month and sometimes more frequently depending on location—this includes healthcare centers (69%), industrial facilities (76%) and IT centers (80%). The National Electrical Manufacturers Association estimates somewhere between 60-80% of surges originate from internal sources.
So what can companies do to protect their equipment. The simple is answer is to plug equipment into surge protectors. Equipment plugged into unprotected power sources is a high risk of being affected by a surge and possibly malfunctioning as a result. Surge protectors are must-have pieces of equipment because it transfers excess voltage to a grounding wire that prevents that voltage from harming your company’s equipment.
During the height of hurricane season or during electrical storms, it’s important for companies to protect equipment as best they can. One of the simplest things companies can do is unplug equipment during storms and plug it back in later. Another step, especially for commercial lighting and office equipment is an uninterruptible power supply.
This device allows companies to keep electrical components going for a set amount of time in the event of a storm or some other weather event. The device stores power in a battery and when the need arises, it distributes power to devices, allowing them to stay on for a period of time.
Companies use a lot of power—buildings consume about 40% of the primary energy and 70% of the annual electricity in the United States—so protecting equipment is of the utmost importance. With so much power being consumed, there’s a lot that companies can do to actually conserve energy and it’s a lot easier than you may think. By using the step listed below, companies can become a lot more eco-friendly, while also protecting themselves from electrical issues.
- Heating and cooling: One of the biggest ways companies can conserve energy is by setting heating/cooling units to reasonable levels. It’s all too easy to crank up the heat or blast the AC, but it can drive up power bills and power usage.
- Update: Another easy way to get the most out of commercial lighting is to update it. That means switching out old lighting for brighter, more energy efficient LED lighting. A commercial electrical company, electrical design services or industrial lighting company will be able to tell you which lighting works best for your office.
- Evaluate: Commercial lighting isn’t the only thing that needs to be updated. Equipment needs to updated as well. Keep an eye on your equipment to look for malfunctions, needed updates and the like.
- Double check: As you go about changing commercial lighting and essential equipment, make sure you’re putting in and installing replacements that can do the job you need. Advances in lighting allow now for dimming systems and putting lights on timers to conserve energy. The same can be done with equipment to conserve power.
- Adapt: It may sound strange at first, but reputable energy conservation services will tell you keeping the lights off in the daytime saves energy the same as turning them off at night. Keep the lights off and open the blinds, allowing the sunshine to light the office during the height of the day.
By following some simple steps, you company can completely change the way it uses power. Adapting more conservative methods will allow you to make better use of lighting and equipment, allowing your company to protect itself from the elements and electrical surges.
