Tips On Saving Your Business Money This Festive Season

The holiday season is here once again, and you may be feeling so festive that your celebratory spirit spills over into the work place. It’s okay–great, even–to spread a little holiday cheer, but you may not be in the mood to celebrate once the New Year is here and you get the energy bill.

Keep your employees in good spirits this holiday season without the risk of becoming the energy Grinch, with these six tips.

1. Use LED lights.
If you want to spruce up the office with holiday decorations, make sure to get light sets or other illuminated decor that use LED lights instead of wasteful incandescent bulbs. Or better yet, skip lighted displays altogether and opt for rich green wreaths and vintage-like ribbons.

2. Stay out of the office kitchen.
Many companies like to arrange holiday parties and potlucks in the office during the holidays to express their appreciation for employees. However, with crock pots and boilers on all day, you could see your energy bills go through the roof for the months of November and December. Try to do a simplified version of this work tradition by having a door-decorating contest or a Secret Santa event.

3. Keep the office insulated.
If your office is in a high-traffic area, employees may be tempted to prop open doors to allow easy entrance. Put up a friendly sign reminding your team to keep doors completely closed when they are not using them so that your heated air doesn’t escape.

4. Give your employees a break.
The end of the year is the perfect time to cut company hours and let your work team go home after peak daylight hours. Not only will this save you lighting costs but it will also make your staff appreciate you even more. You can also consider extending the holiday break with work-from-home days for your entire staff.

5. Shut down over the holiday.
Since everyone will be taking time off during Thanksgiving and Christmas, remind all employees to completely shut down all of their equipment over the holiday–especially those that run on standby power.

6. Gift yourself.
As a business owner, the holidays are a good time to take advantage of retail sales on office equipment. Look for energy efficient printers, copiers and shredders for your company, and consider them both a gift and an investment.

If you want to take your energy efficiency habits even further, go to uSwitchforbusiness to find the most competitive business electricity prices and save even more on your company’s energy bill.

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