This winter is off to a brutal start. As temperatures continue to plummet, many small business owners may find themselves struggling to keep up with rising office heating costs. Nevertheless, by following a few simple tips, businesses can avoid encountering escalating heating bills.
Here are 10 ways small business owners can reduce office heating costs this winter
- 1.Replace worn-out weatherstripping: Many small business owners are unaware that seven to 12 percent of heat loss happens around a building’s windows and doors. Therefore, by replacing old weatherstripping, businesses can prevent the potential for heat leakage.
- 2.Make adjustments to door thresholds: Examine the space between your office doors and the floor. If you can see light underneath the gap, this means that some heat may be escaping your office space. To tighten or close the gap entirely, simply adjust the screws on the threshold of the door until the gap is eliminated.
- 3.Seal electrical outlets: By sealing electrical outlets, you can prevent outside air from seeping into your office. Use acrylic caulk to fill the gaps between the sides of the outlet box and the wall. Afterwards, install a rubber gasket behind the wall plate.
- 4.Invest in a portable heater: Space heaters can be highly beneficial for offices with a small number of employees. Portable heaters will enable you to turn down the furnace, which could help you save money on future utility bills. Space heaters can be placed in specific rooms, or by each individual employee’s workspace.
- 5.Upgrade to a programmable thermostat: Programmable thermostats enable you to utilize heat only when your office is occupied. These units are fairly cheap, and can ultimately save you anywhere from 5 to 15 percent on your heating bills.
- 6.Make changes to your seating arrangement: When desks and other work areas are in close proximity to windows and outside walls, the air tends to be colder. Therefore, in order to keep employees a bit warmer, try to relocate desks so that they are farther away from these areas.
- 7.Leave office blinds open on sunny days: Aside from allowing some sunshine into your office space, keeping blinds open on brighter days can help boost employees’ spirits while naturally increasing the temperature inside.
- 8.Allow employees to work remotely: Offering telecommuting opportunities to your staff can have a big impact on your expenses. As fewer employees report to the office each day, you can save substantially by decreasing PC usage, as well as save on light and HVAC expenses.
- 9.Cut down the number of printers: Instead of wasting energy on running multiple printers in your office, try making just one printer readily accessible to all computers in the office. By doing so, you could save plenty of money on costly energy expenses.
- 10.Shut computers off at night: According to USA Today, leaving PCs running at night led to small businesses wasting $2.8 billion each year. Help your staff develop a habit of shutting off their computers completely before leaving each day, and have the first person who comes in the next morning click each of them on so your employees can still get a jumpstart to the day.
Aside from saving valuable money on utility costs, many small business owners may be concerned about effectively managing their company’s overall financial situation. By taking advantage of invoice factoring, small business owners can save time while acquiring immediate working capital to accelerate cash flow. In addition to receiving fast financing, business owners will incur zero debt throughout the entire process. By obtaining steady cash flow from factoring invoices, companies can rest assured that they will always have adequate funds on hand to drive company growth and deal with delinquent customers. Interested in factoring invoices? Unleash your power to survive and thrive by requesting a free invoice factoring quote online today!
