How to reduce heating costs for your small business this winter

Brought to you by ComEd’s Energy Efficiency Program. Visit www.comed.com to learn more.

Winter can be stressful for any small business, from the chaos of the holiday season to the excitement of Q1. But it’s also stressful for any small business’s facilities. Drastic temperature changes, raging storms, and insidious drafts can hammer heating systems in offices and commercial spaces, posing a major threat to the bottom line.

Among the many ways business owners can cut down on energy costs, reducing heating costs is crucial to maintaining a balanced budget through the colder months. Here are a few tips to help you and your facilities stay nice and cozy while saving.

“Smart thermostat” isn’t just a clever name. The newest generation of thermostats are pretty intelligent when it comes to finding ways to run your heating system most efficiently. Not only can they create routines to automate heating cycles throughout the day and week, but they can even learn from user behavior to uncover insights and savings that even you didn’t think of.

While newer thermostats can sense temperatures in multiple zones within a building and accordingly send heat where needed, older thermostats get a single reading wherever they are placed and heat the whole space in a uniform way. The mico-climate around the thermostat -- say, if it’s near a leaky window or often used exterior door -- can have a big impact. Be sure to place the thermostat far from exterior openings and from sunlight, away from heaters and ventilation ducts, and out of hallways and kitchens.

Though pricier than refreshing an old system, putting money down on a new HVAC system may save you money in the long run, up to 35% on annual energy costs. Especially with rebates, which can range from $50 to $6,000, upgrading to a more efficient system is good for you and good for your wallet. If you’d prefer to hold off on a whole new system, consider extending the life of your current setup by installing economizers and advanced controls.

As part of regular maintenance, check in on your heating ducts, which distribute warm air throughout your business. Make sure they’re properly sealed and insulated in order to maximize the efficiency of your heater. According to Energy Star, simple duct maintenance could save you over 20% on heating costs.

It’s obvious, which means it’s probably overlooked too. Cleaning the filters in your HVAC system can help them work more efficiently and distribute heat better. Do it regularly to receive regular benefits.

When looking to reduce heating costs, the refrigerator might not be the first place you look. But fridges are an integral part of the heating/cooling ecosystem, and if they’re working inefficiently -- unsealed doors leeching heat, manual settings that fail to account for shifts in moisture -- they can add big costs to your bottom line. If your fridge is more than six years old or still uses energy-sucking fluorescent lights, it’s worth upgrading to a new model, armed with smart sensors that can adjust settings on the fly.

Heat your business, not the whole block. Doors, windows, and other gaps in your building may let all the warm air out if they’re not sealed tight. Once again, the easiest fixes are of the most overlooked.