Summer is here, which means the hot weather is back and you will be cranking up the air conditioning in your office. However, running that air conditioning everyday will lead to big increases in your energy bills.

We have developed a list of the 5 best ways to keep your business cooling costs low during the summer heat.

1.  Use a Programmable Thermostat

Because air conditioning account for a large amount of the energy consumed, almost 30% of the electricity used, adjusting the temperature settings can be a great source of savings.

You can automate these settings with programmable thermostats to turn temperature up during unoccupied hours and on weekends during the summer.

You can also try implementing small temperature changes during working hours. Most people in the office will not notice a 1° to 2° change in the temperature.

2.  Blinds and Shading

Close window blinds in each room to shade them from direct sunlight. Blinds can reduce incoming heat by 45% and therefore make the rooms feel cooler.

Also choose lighter colored shades instead of darker ones as they can deflect the most heat.

3.  Switch to LED or CFL Light Bulbs

Having incandescent lights in your office not only uses up a significant amount of energy, it also releases large amounts of heat. Replace these light bulbs with LED or compact florescent lights (CFL) as they use 75% less energy as well as last 10 times longer than incandescent lights.

Remember to also turn off all lights after business hours as that will lead to unnecessary waste and drive up the utility bills.

4.  Change the Air Filters

Especially during the summer, air filters should be changed on a regular basis your air conditioning is not using more energy than necessary. This allows more air to flow through the system and in return will lower operating costs.

5.  Fans

Fans are an inexpensive way to lower energy consumption. They can keep the office several degrees cooler while reducing or even eliminating the use air conditioning.