Construction Maintenance Electrician

Energy Saving Tips for When You Become a Maintenance Electrician

October 26, 2017

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Working as an electrician, it’s useful to be in the know about the basics of energy efficiency. Clients will often turn to you as an expert in all things electrical and electronic, and hope that you can offer them tips to reduce their energy bills.

Being able to provide this service is a great way to make yourself that much more useful, and could really brighten a curious customer’s day. It will also help you single yourself out as a professional they can really trust, and could lead to repeat business in the future.

Wondering what kinds of useful advice might be interesting to clients? Here are a few important ideas that can help cut energy costs.

When You Become a Maintenance Electrician, Advise Clients to Avoid Aggressive Heating & Cooling

Heating and cooling can help make a space nicer to live or work in, but it also requires a great deal of energy. The 2012 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey found that heating and cooling combined for 718 trillion of a total of 4,241 trillion BTU of energy consumed by surveyed buildings. Unlike a relatively fixed energy drain, like refrigeration (which clocked in at 670 billion BTU), there is a bit more freedom to reduce the costs associated with heating and cooling.

Simply advising clients not to go overboard with heating and cooling can do a great deal to cut down on costs. Often, an office building or other commercial space will have very aggressive cooling or heating ongoing throughout the summer and winter. Temperatures might hover in the range of 18-19 degrees in summer, or surpass 20 in winter. A degree or two less cooling would keep the spaces in a comfortable range, but would require much less energy, and could therefore result in a bill that is several percentage points lower.

maintenance electrician diploma.jpgAdjusting the heating or cooling of a building is an easy way to save money

Tell Customers That Updating Lighting to LED Could Save Them a Bundle

Professionals with a maintenance electrician diploma likely know that the current standard for efficient and cost-effective lighting comes in the form of LED lights. The most notable benefits of LEDs are their low energy cost relative to the amount of light they produce – a 10 watt LED is about equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent bulb – and lifespan. An LED can last for around 30,000 hours of use, compared to 10,000 for fluorescent lights, and just 1,000 for incandescent bulbs. Though slightly more costly to buy than the other options, longer lifespan and cheaper operational costs make LEDs the clear choice for individuals and businesses hoping to save energy and money over time.

Become a maintenance electrician.jpgLED lights are the best choice for both energy efficiency and product longevity

Unsurprisingly, many businesses have taken note of the benefits of LEDs, and are now investing in updating their lighting to take advantage. Enrolling in training programs like the one offered at North American Trade Schools will give you the electrical skills and knowledge you need to help them make the transition.

Beware Vampire Power! Advise Clients on the Value of Eco-Friendly Modes

It’s no secret that plugged-in appliances and devices draw tiny amounts of power even when they are not in use. This phenomenon, referred to as “vampire power” is quite small on the level of an individual device. However, multiply by all the devices typically found in a home or office — numerous computers, copiers, monitors, etc. — and the cumulative effect can quickly result in a fair amount of energy use.

Advising customers to select devices and appliances that offer eco-friendly modes, and to set the devices to use those modes when not in use, is a good way to help them reduce their energy costs when you become a maintenance electrician. To get a sense of some of the best ways to take advantage of these kinds of features, consider reaching out to your instructors while completing your training. With their years of experience working with electrical devices of all kinds, they may have a few useful perspectives that could help you in identifying other ways to operate devices with less wasted energy.

Want to put yourself on the fast track to an electrician career in construction or maintenance?

Contact North American Trade Schools to learn about our program!

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