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View energy-saving tips that can help make a difference in the amount of energy you use and money you save.

Water Heating

  • Condensing hot water heaters recover heat from combustion flue gas for your domestic hot water, saving you about 10 to 15 percent in hot water energy costs.
  • Hot water from your faucet can be conserved by incorporating low-flow aerators into your facility resulting in savings of 25 percent or more on your water heating costs.

Programmable Thermostats

Scheduling heating and cooling needs with a programmable or Wi-Fi thermostat as part of your overall building automation plan can save you energy. Set the thermostat back 7-10 F when the building is unoccupied for at least eight hours and save as much as 10 percent on heating costs. (Source: DOE)

Heating

  • As part of your building automation system, adding boiler controls (such as cut-out and reset controls) can save you energy and money by optimizing your hot water temperature. This helps your boiler operate about 5 percent more efficiently.
  • The ventilation load on a commercial building can account for half of your heating bill. You can avoid paying for over-ventilation by installing a demand control ventilation system to automatically adjust the amount of fresh air intake based on carbon dioxide levels (occupancy) in the room.
  • About 5 percent or more of steam traps fail each year, wasting energy and money. CenterPoint Energy recommends developing a plan for assessing steam traps as part of your overall building and steam heating system maintenance plan, to ensure your steam traps are regularly checked with a professional steam trap survey to identify any failed traps.
  • A natural gas hydronic heating system with a condensing boiler can operate 10 percent (or more) efficiently than one with a standard efficiency or non-condensing boiler. If it’s time to replace your boiler, consider upgrading to a condensing efficiency system.
  • Having your boiler tuned-up at least every two years can increase boiler operating efficiency from 1 to 5 percent.
  • Infrared and condensing unit heaters can operate 10 percent more efficiently than standard natural gas unit heaters.
  • Linkageless controls optimize your boiler’s combustion efficiency, saving about 3 percent on space heating costs.

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