What Does a Changing Climate Mean for Your Energy Costs?

2023 was the hottest year on record, and it wasn’t an outlier—the 10 warmest years since the global community started keeping track in 1850 have all occurred in the last decade. While we all have felt the heat personally in recent years, businesses are feeling it most acutely in their energy costs, which have been skyrocketing.

A changing climate means an updated approach to powering, heating, and cooling facilities should be at the top of all of our lists. Given the trend toward higher average temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events, and with these changes happening faster than previously predicted, this is not a reality businesses can afford to ignore. 

These trends necessitate a change in the way we think about our energy and utilities, and it’s never too early to start making moves to offset the expected impact of a changing climate. Energy is already a major cost center for nearly every conceivable business, and it’s set to take an even more prominent position among cost drivers in the coming years.

Increasing Efficiency to Offset Rising Costs 

Thanks to these changes, higher energy usage is all but guaranteed moving forward. Hotter summers mean more cooling is needed, and the higher incidence of extreme weather events will push more businesses to create backup functions and redundancies in their operations to prevent disruption—not to mention the costs associated with rebuilding in case of damage from those events. Overall, companies in the US saw their energy costs increase by a shocking $41 billion in 2022 alone.

Not only do businesses need more energy, it’s costing more per unit (often measured per kilowatt hour, or kWh), too. And while the kWh cost of energy is out of businesses’ hands, what they can do is reduce the energy they need by upgrading their HVAC, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems to more efficient models. Today’s utilities are made to optimize energy efficiency, doing as much or more with less energy usage. Chances are there are unnecessary costs at your facility that are being incurred thanks to inefficient air, piping, electrical, or plumbing systems.

Even starting routine maintenance on these systems annually can improve the performance and efficiency of utility systems and bring down costs without significant upfront costs. But for longer-term savings, and facilities prepared for a changing climate, aging and inefficient systems will need to be replaced.

Smart Building Controls Keep Costs Down

Modern HVAC systems can adapt to fast-changing climate conditions—and thanks to smart “internet-of-things” (IoT) technology like sensors and machine-learning controls, it can adapt without manual intervention, reducing the amount of time the system is operating inefficiently. A sudden drop in temperature due to a summer storm rolling in can trigger the system to scale back the cool air it’s pumping out—no need to wait for people in the building to start feeling cold and then request a change in the air. Not only is this more energy efficient, but it increases worker comfort and satisfaction.

Water Efficiency

A warming planet also means cooling will play a larger role—everything from providing cold drinking water to keep worker body temperatures from rising to dangerous levels to using liquid cooling systems to keep servers from overheating. Some of the more stark predictions out there for the future even suggest that water may become a scarce resource.

This is why it’s so important for plumbing fixtures and water systems to work efficiently as we build for the future. Low-flow fixtures have a large impact on water usage and are often easy upgrades to make. Water treatment and recycling systems can cut down on the amount of water being used as well as the energy needed to reuse water resources. Additionally, by insulating piping and optimizing cooling tower usage, utilizing water for cooling functions will require less energy—and add less to monthly energy costs.

Preparing for Renewable Energy Sources

As renewable energy becomes more commercially available, upgrading to utility systems that can be connected to these renewable sources is a proactive move that will mitigate rising utility costs. Doing so will also help companies increase their sustainability profile in the future. This has the dual benefit of increasing positive public perception of a company as well as preparing for compliance with the many energy efficiency regulations that are being passed now or will be in the future.

This is another area where smart technologies can reduce energy consumption and therefore costs. Intelligent technologies can determine not only when to utilize energy sources, but also which resources are most efficient to use, and when.

Contact Us Today to Start on Your Path to Efficiency

It’s important to choose the right HVAC, mechanical, piping, electrical, and plumbing upgrades for your facilities as you look to increase efficiency. That’s where we come in! Our experts can help you design and choose a system that still fulfills your needs while saving you money. We look at your building size, typical usage patterns, and unique site attributes. Then we work with you to design a system that works today but is prepared for a changing climate.

There are even financial incentives such as manufacturer rebates and federal or state tax credits that can accompany a utility upgrade that leads to greater energy efficiency. We can help you find additional cost savings with your ideal utility systems.

A changing climate may be inevitable, but it costing your business more doesn’t have to be! Don’t wait for your energy costs to skyrocket even further—contact us today to get started!