One of the most popular new year’s resolutions for warehouse management and facility owners of any industry is finding ways to save money through the year. And let’s face it – even after all the benefits to the environment, one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce overhead is to cut back on utility costs and billing. If you’ve got an older warehouse and want to find some easy ways to reduce heating and electric bills without massive reworking to the building, here’s a few tips we’ve found to get you started:

Upgrade Your Lighting

One of the biggest energy sinks a warehouse can face is outdated traditional light bulbs, especially considering the size of the warehouse and the number of lightbulbs needed. Changing all of your lightbulbs to newer industrial LED lighting will help reduce power costs as time goes on thanks to their lower energy use and longer life span.

Paint Your Roof

A less-popular solution but one that could be very effective when it comes to heating costs. Many warehouse managers have been applying what’s referred to as a ‘cool roof’, wherein a coat of highly-reflective paint is applied to the roof of your facility to reflect sunlight during the warmer months to help keep the building cool and prevent overuse of the air conditioner. If your roof doesn’t allow for easy painting, then just focusing on the areas around the air conditioners will help them work more efficiently and reduce the amount of energy needed.

Increase Air Flow

Speaking of air efficiency, one of the more common obstacles a warehouse can have while trying to become more energy efficient is the impediment of air flow. If your warehouse has too many big installations or solid shelving units, it can cause your heaters and air conditioners to work harder and increase your energy cost while reducing efficiency. Some of your bigger equipment might not be able to be moved, but whenever possible try to rearrange your tools and shelving to not block vents or windows. If you need to bring in more shelving that will block an area where air flows through, installing something like wire shelving that allows for better ventilation would allow for improved airflow while maximizing your available storage space.

Update Your Thermostats

A lot of older warehouses don’t offer programmable thermostats, and while it might look like a bit of an upfront cost it will very much help save you money in the long run. Install programmable thermostats throughout your facility to help both keep your workers comfortable and your bills down by regulating temperature during peak hours of the day and reducing the amount of heat used while nobody is present, such as at night or over the weekend.

With these tips you should start seeing a pretty quick reduction in your heating costs in order to get your New Year off to a good start. Stay warm out there!