How much in power consumption are Space Heaters Costing your Business?
As we get further into the winter months almost every office has at least one person using a small space heater to adjust the temperature in their office. Whether they use it only in the morning to warm up after they walk in or all day to continually adjust the temperature in their office these small appliances can create a large amount of power consumption negatively impacting operating costs. At Discount Power Broker we want to keep our clients informed of not only the changes in the energy market but also steps that they can take to help decrease monthly costs and increase monthly profits. Today we will look at how you can calculate the cost of running a space heater in your office and how your businesses can work together with employees to decrease the need for these small but draining appliances. As the winter months start to take hold around the country temperatures can fluctuate dramatically. We all know that a comfortable workplace is key to increasing productivity and maintaining a happy work environment.
But what is the added expense that businesses incur during these months by allowing their employees to use these small appliances to keep warm?
At Discount Power Broker we are all about finding ways for our clients to increase their profits through decreased utility costs. Our job is not only to lower your electricity rate but also find simple and sometimes free solutions to every day energy usage problems. Space heaters are just that “an energy usage problem.” Although they are convenient, these small portable heaters use a large amount of power and can dramatically affect a companies utility costs during the winter months. To calculate how much the space heaters in your office are costing you in power consumption on a weekly or monthly basis is very simple. Below we will outline the steps so you can see for yourself what these appliances are costing you.
For this example, I will use a small space heater that we no longer use in our office (Later we will tell you the steps that our company took to make this “tool” obsolete in our office!). The space heater that we used to use is rated at 1,500 watts @ 120 volts. To calculate the operating costs:
First, multiply WATTS X OPERATING HOURS PER DAY:
1,500 WATTS X 10 HOURS PER DAY X 5 Days/week = 75,000 WATT HOURS PER DAY
Next, we convert to Kilowatts:
75,000 WATTS / 1,000 = 75 KWH per day
Then we multiply by our current energy rate $0.0675/KWH
75 KWH X $0.0675 = $5.0625 per week or over
$20 Dollars/month/space heater
At one point our office was using 5 of these same space heaters each day and adding almost $100 a month to our electricity bill during the winter months. Even worse if your company isn’t currently working with Discount Power Broker you may be paying double our rate for your electricity and these small space heater’s power consumption is costing your company even more!
How To Fire Your Space Heater
The good news is that with advancements in technology and by working with Discount Power Broker your company can easily overcome the cost of these small space heaters while still providing a comfortable place to work.
The first thing you should do is contact us today to make sure that you are getting the lowest cost on your Electricity pricing. We use a network of power providers to shop the market to find you the best rate and monitor your contract so that your contract never expires without your knowledge and an update renewal offer. Even if you are currently in a contract we can begin the process and watch the market so that you don’t get left out in the cold when your current contract expires.
Our Recommended Thermostat
Secondly, we suggest looking into a smart thermostat like our office did to make sure that the temperature in the office never gets too hot or too cold! There are several smart thermostats on the market now that allow you to set the parameters for your office as well as set after hours temperatures so that you are not heating or cooling the office when no one is working. We chose the NEST solution for our office because of the easy to use App as well as the easy installation process.
The Nest Thermostat worked great to set both a high and a low temperature for the office as well as set a schedule so that after work hours we could let the office get a little colder when no one was here working and put less strain on the heating system as well as decreased the cost to run the system.
Another system we would recommend is the Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat with voice control. This system is Alexa powered and often equipped with a smart bundle package for your home. With this bundle, you can place multiple sensors around your home to thoroughly read the temperature throughout the day and continuously maintain your preferred temperature.
Lastly, our final smart system recommendation would be the Kono Smart Thermostat. This thermostat is equipped with all the bells and whistles and compatible with all major digital assistants. With many color options and minimal design this a great option for the modern office space.
We Haven’t Looked Back
Ultimately, the hardest part of the whole process was collecting our space heaters and determining a temperature that worked for everyone. Our office continues to save money through decreased power consumption and we haven’t looked back, so if you want to learn more about how we fired our space heaters and decreased our operating costs contact us today!