Locate and fix leaks. Every drip costs you money; big drips cost you a lot. Check your bills regularly. If you notice unanticipated changes, ask your water/sewer provider or a leak detection specialist or plumber to help you identify leaks. Leaks can be hard to find and expensive to fix. Repair them as soon as possible.

Track your energy and water use and bills to get a clear picture of where your dollars are going and where you can save. Your bills can tell you a lot about which facility or piece of equipment may be wasting energy, water and money.

Talk to your local water bureau for water-saving ideas.

Cover pools and spas when not in use. The heat and water loss through evaporation is tremendous and expensive.

Encourage guests to reuse towels and linens to reduce laundry load, and ensure that staff follows your company’s laundry-saving practices.

Insulate accessible water pipes, especially the first 3 feet of pipes entering and leaving the water heater. Use correctly sized sleeves of pipe insulation or self-adhesive pipe-wrapping insulation tape. But we do not recommend wrapping your water heater with an insulating jacket or blanket. Newer, high-efficiency water heaters are built with good interior insulation, so an extra layer of external insulation is unnecessary and may cause operational, safety or warranty problems. If your water heater is more than 10 or 15 years old, it’s approaching the end of its life expectancy, so budgeting to replace it with a new, high-efficiency model is a better idea.

Set water heaters to 120 degrees unless they serve older dishwashers, which need 140-degree water. Turn water heaters even lower or off at the electrical breaker when an apartment or other space is vacant for a week or more (allow several hours for reheating). Lower temperatures save energy and can reduce pipe corrosion.

How PGE can help
Check out the PGE class schedule to take advantage of a variety of courses to enhance business practices and get expert advice on how to save energy and money.

Contact the PGE Business Services team to arrange for a free PGE energy-efficiency consultation. This process can often be quickly accomplished over the over the phone. We can also provide a third-party technical review of improvements you are considering.

Use PGE’s energy monitoring services to track your energy use and bills for a clear picture of where your dollars are going and where you can save. This includes monthly, daily and customer reporting options that help you pinpoint problems and identify key opportunities for improving energy-efficiency.