More Than Energy Savings: a Safer Workplace
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More Than Energy Savings: a Safer Workplace
Written by Emmy Fishency
When people think about energy efficiency, they tend to think only about lower energy use and reduced operating costs.
For businesses and other organizations, wise building system upgrades can support more than energy performance. They can help facilities enhance the overall user experience.
Replacing outdated lighting can improve visibility in work areas, entrances, parking areas, and walkways. Networked fixture-integrated sensors, now a common option, can provide real-time occupancy and historical trend data to enable automated building controls and provide operational intelligence to inform property management decisions.
Modernizing HVAC systems can help improve occupant comfort, well-being, and workplace satisfaction by delivering superior temperature consistency, air filtration, and ventilation.
See how other businesses are putting energy efficiency to work for safer, more functional facilities
Safety Starts With What People Can See
Visibility can play an important role in how people experience and navigate a facility.
Employees arriving for an early shift. Customers visiting after work. Guests leaving an event after sunset. In each situation, clear visibility can make it easier to see entrances, walkways, parking areas, and the spaces around them.
Upgrading inefficient lighting can create brighter, more visible spaces while reducing energy waste. While lighting does not replace formal safety planning, security measures, or building-code requirements, it can be an important part of creating a property that supports visibility and safe navigation.
Montgomery County Humane Society experienced some of these benefits firsthand after upgrading its interior and exterior lighting and HVAC systems through the Pepco Small Business program.
The new LED lighting improved comfort for animals, staff, and visitors throughout the facility, while upgraded exterior lighting enhanced safety. Together, the improvements made the building more comfortable, functional, and inviting.
Look at the Places People Use Every Day
Think about the places people move through every day:
- Parking lots
- Entrances and exits
- Exterior walkways
- Loading areas
- Hallways and corridors
- Offices
- Storage areas
- Gathering spaces
- Back-of-house areas
Are these spaces bright and visible enough for the people who use them?
Lighting upgrades can help make these areas brighter and easier to navigate, especially during darker hours.
That can matter in facilities of all kinds. St. Mary of the Assumption School upgraded older lighting with brighter, energy-efficient LEDs, improving the learning environment by eliminating the old yellow-orange tint. The improvements helped create a more functional space while reducing energy use.
Looking for a quick and easy way to start? The Business Instant Discounts program offers instant discounts on qualifying lighting and HVAC equipment through participating distributors. Perfect for immediate maintenance needs and planned short-term projects.
Safety Isn’t Only About What You Can See
Lighting may be one of the most visible ways an energy upgrade can affect a facility, but it isn’t the only one.
Modern HVAC equipment can maintain more consistent indoor temperatures and, depending on the project, support indoor air quality with better air filtration and ventilation. Modern controls can provide greater insight into system performance and help equipment respond more efficiently to changing conditions.
These improvements can help create indoor environments that better support the people who work, gather, and spend time in your facility.
And when multiple systems are considered together, businesses and organizations may be able to address several facility needs through one coordinated project.
Giant Food saw the benefits of taking that approach, installing lighting and controls upgrades at several of its stores in Pepco’s service territory. After the upgrades, both customers and employees responded positively to the new lighting, while operating costs decreased.
The result can be a facility that uses energy more efficiently while creating an environment that better supports the people and activities inside it.
What Could an Upgrade Improve?
It’s easy to evaluate an energy efficiency project based on energy use and operating costs alone. But safety and facility functionality deserve a place in the conversation, too.
Outdated systems may present opportunities to improve:
Visibility in key areas
Wayfinding through entrances, walkways, and common spaces
Lighting quality
Ventilation and air quality
Overall facility functionality
Equipment and system performance and automation
Operational intelligence
Access to available energy efficiency incentives, grants, and financing
What Could Your Facility Be Missing?
If your lighting, HVAC, or other equipment has been in place for years, take a closer look at how those systems affect the people who use your facility every day.
Could parking areas, entrances, or walkways be easier to see?
Are there areas where better lighting could improve visibility and perceived safety?
Could indoor conditions be more consistent for employees, customers, or visitors?
Are aging systems affecting how your facility functions?
Could one energy efficiency project address multiple facility needs?
An energy assessment or conversation with an energy professional can help identify opportunities you may not have considered.
Ready to Make Your Facility Work Better?
A closer look at the systems already in place can uncover opportunities to improve efficiency, functionality, and safety.
Explore Energy Savings for Business to discover your next opportunity.
