Every small business owner would love to increase their bottom line. Unfortunately, too few business owners are giving serious consideration to their energy expenditure; by cutting down your energy bill, not only do you stand to save a substantial amount of money, but you're also doing your part to help the environment!

Make these small changes to your company's energy habits, and you will start to see a very positive effect on your books.

Use Electricity Only When Needed

Everyone knows that leaving the lights on at night is an unnecessary waste of electricity; chances are, you've personally sent out a memo or two reminding employees to please switch the lights off if they're the last ones leaving the office.

The trick here is to make it abundantly clear that cutting your energy bill is a priority – make sure your team understands that electricity use needs to be taken seriously. Switch off all lights and air-conditioning units when they aren't needed. Additionally, make sure to switch off computer monitors when they're not in use.

Upgrade to LED Lighting

Incandescent light bulbs are rapidly being phased out of usage in commercial and residential applications. If your office is still equipped with incandescent lighting, it is in your best interest to upgrade to an energy-efficient system as quickly as possible.

LED lighting, a relatively new lighting technology, is significantly more efficient than halogen or incandescent lighting. Furthermore, LED lighting has a very long expected lifetime, being capable of producing light for up to 40,000 hours.

However, this is only true of high-quality LED lighting. Due to the fact that LED lighting systems are fairly new to the market, relevant regulatory standards haven't had time to fully develop. For this reason, you should make sure that you are sourcing your LED lights from a high-quality, reputable dealer.

Replace Old Electrical Equipment

For the majority of electrical equipment, it is safe to say that the newer the model, the more energy efficient it is.

Check the efficiency rating on your printers and photocopiers. If you have equipment that is 10-20 years old, chances are you're using an unnecessary amount of power to complete daily office tasks. Upgrade your office equipment, and the energy savings will quickly make up for the cost of the upgrade.

Additionally, check the appliances in the break room (particularly the refrigerator). Refrigerators can be huge energy guzzlers, especially due to the fact that they are running 24/7. If you have an old, wasteful model, make sure to upgrade to an energy-efficient one as soon as you can.