The late Milton Friedman was one of the greatest economic minds in history. It was Friedman who coined the term a business? number one priority is to earn a profit. Most people understand this. After all, a business that is not profitable will not be operational for long. However, most people look at profits from a narrow perspective. That is, they see profits exclusively in the form of revenues. This, however, is not completely the case. Profits are how much you have earned over your expenditures. That means a business can increase its profits by reducing its expenditures. And, without a doubt, the biggest expenditure drain a business often deals with is energy costs. That is why it is critical to cut back on energy costs if you wish you business to remain profitable. Thankfully, there are a number of easy ways to do this.

You can see significant energy savings by simply using different bulbs in your office light fixtures. You can choose lower wattage bulbs (many fixtures are fitted with bulbs which are higher wattage than are needed), or you can choose compact fluorescent bulbs or LED light bulbs. While these will cost more than traditional bulbs, the money they will save your company on energy over the long run make these a very worthwhile investment.

Putting energy consuming products on a timer is a good way to make sure that lights and computers are not left on after hours. It is shocking how much money a business loses do to employees leaving electrical items on when they leave work on Friday. However, if these devices are on a timer and shut off automatically, this problem can be circumvented. Most timers are also inexpensive and easy to install and they can be integrated into any office environment.

Insulating a building is a very common way to cut down on expenses. It costs a lot of money to heat an office and when heat is escaping due to poor insulation then it is escaping needlessly. Insulating an office is not an expensive proposition and, like most LED lights, insulating ultimately pays for itself over time.

You may also want to consider having an energy audit done. You can engage the service of professionals who specialize in inspecting buildings with an eye towards more efficient use of energy. You?ll have to fix the issues which an audit uncovers, but there is an incredible amount of money to be saved through implementing what are usually simple and inexpensive solutions.

In addition to saving a great deal of money for your business, there is an ancillary benefit as well. Namely, your business will be contributing greatly to the environment. By taking part in energy conservation, our natural resources will not be depleted at an accelerated rate. This connects to Milton Friedman?s assertion that the greatest social justice a company can perform is earning a profit. In this particular instance, boosting profits by cutting energy expenditures creates the ancillary effect of a cleaner environment. Any company that contributes to such a cause truly is deserved of acclaim. Why not let your business be among these companies?

About the author: Jerry Dyess has been writing about the Texas Electricity market segment for many years and written articles on Business Electric prices.