Fighting climate change has become a global objective, as has maintaining sustainable businesses. So at this point in the movement, as the owner of a taxi company, you should not be left out of it. This is where the great proposal that has emerged in Europe comes in and has already resulted in various advantages: energy efficiency.
We know that you will be thinking about why it is so urgent to learn and apply these new measures. “Better use of energy in any of its forms is not only possible, but absolutely necessary,” said expert Carlo Gavazzi. In addition to this, the bad publicity you get from turning a blind eye is not pleasant. Let's delve deeper into energy efficiency so you can apply it without any problems.
What actually is energy efficiency?
It has been called energy efficiency when using equipment or facilities that have low consumption, but with the same performance. Reducing costs as much as possible, resulting in greater energy savings . In the current context, there is a rise in prices, so it is time to bet on renewable energy solutions and even self-supply.
Statistics that reflect a change
According to this year's IPPCC report, CO₂ emissions are less, but they have not slowed down enough. Governments around the world have been concerned about this fact, as in the case of Spain. They have presented the General State Budget for 2023, which has a 30% increase destined for the ecological transition.
Latin America and the Caribbean are also riding this wave, trying to meet the objectives set in the 2030 agenda. Among them is guaranteeing access to more affordable, safe, sustainable and modern energy for all. However, the Latin American energy organization states that only 12 of the 27 member countries have energy efficiency laws.
Options to achieve a sustainable company
Whether on a smaller scale, every company needs energy to fulfill some of its processes. So we have the following proposals for your taxi company . They have already been tested and their undoubted usefulness in avoiding both waste and excess pollution has been confirmed.
Hire an efficient service
Just as it is important to consume less energy, it is also important not to spend all your capital trying. Choose a contract-type service that best fits your needs, not a generic one that you're likely to lose out on. Likewise, you must make sure that the contracted power is adequate, that it is neither too low nor that it overloads the outlets.
Don't stick with the first option, contact different energy suppliers so you can choose the best offer. You would be surprised by the number of options on the market, depending on the size of your company. Our advice is that you risk abandoning the “comfort” of contracting at fixed prices and evaluate purchases by indexed prices, pass-through, etc.
Define the characteristics of your premises
Each taxi company or office is different and, despite false beliefs, there is no standard energy consumption. Or much less that it can be predefined as usual or normal with so much variability in electrical devices at play. However, there are certain elements that can influence your energy consumption:
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The surface, the size of your infrastructure influences energy consumption, the larger it is, the more it will consume. You can manage how you use each corner so that you have the appropriate energy resources in each section and do not overspend.
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Beginning of the day, the hours of operation of the various teams have a considerable influence. That is, it will consume more or less depending on the time it is open, with the equipment running. Therefore, the hours of sunshine should be used more, avoiding needing so much artificial light or heating.
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The climate, the two previous points are a mixer for this element. Since the weather affects the heating and/or cooling of spaces. Therefore, it is recommended to turn on these systems only when necessary. This can equally apply to taxi companies with car air conditioning.
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Age of the building, if the premises are really many years old, it is advisable to rehabilitate or make some changes. Especially in terms of thermal insulation, since it has directly to do with energy efficiency.
Always monitor your consumption
Thanks to advances in technology, you can check your meters and track your consumption patterns. On the one hand, you will be able to identify if there is any anomaly in your energy levels. And on the other hand, you will be able to see with your own eyes the effectiveness of the measures you have implemented. To keep these records, consider how useful it is to invest in the installation of smart meters.
Raise awareness among your workers
One of the keys to energy efficiency is correctly managing energy resources in a skillful and effective way. Teach your employees to make rational use of work equipment. Turn off computer monitors during breaks, turn on printers to print several documents at once, etc.
Make your plan and save energy
Once the characteristics of your space have been identified according to the aforementioned variables, the next step is to make a change plan. In which everything must be in order of priority to facilitate the measures to be adopted. Remember, it is not necessary for your taxi company to implement everything at once, significant results are achieved in small steps.
