World leaders recently agreed to curb climate change, and we all have a corporate responsibility to lessen our impact on the wider world. So here, Linde Aftersales offers five tips for improving green credentials while boosting your bottom line.

1. Green lights

Lighting a warehouse can be expensive and energy intensive, but there are several steps you can take to reduce consumption.

* Installing LED lighting could significantly reduce energy consumption and cut costs by as much as 50% according to one study. LED bulbs are more energy efficient and also have a longer lifespan than traditional lighting solutions.

* Motion sensors can extend the life of bulbs and can be used in combination with dimmers and timers to minimise energy waste by ensuring lights are only on or fully on where necessary.

* Painting the walls of your warehouse white and keeping light fittings clean can also provide very low cost ways to increase the effectiveness of your lighting.

2. Temperature control

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning can use significant amounts of energy, particularly in large spaces.

* Make sure that you’re not using more energy than you need to. For example if your warehouse is empty most of the time, how much heating do you really need? Lowering the temperature by 1% could reduce your heating bill by up to 8% according to the Carbon Trust.

* De-stratification fans are large slow fans that can help ensure that warm air is well circulated and could reduce energy consumption by up to 20%. In warmer weather the fans can also help with cooling.

* Regular maintenance of air-conditioning systems can ensure that they’re operating at optimum levels.

3. Keep heat in

Around 55% of heat could be escaping through the walls and roof of your warehouse. Spray foam or loose fill insulation can be much more efficient than traditional fiberglass batt insulation.

Spray foam will cost roughly twice as much to install as batt insulation, but is also around twice as efficient.

4. Use your height

Before you extend the square footage of your warehouse, consider whether you’ve made best use of vertical space.

The right machinery and storage units can help you make the most of overhead space, saving on square foot expansion costs, relocation costs and energy usage associated with lighting and maintaining a bigger area.

Modern machinery such as smart operator-assist systems for reach trucks will help your employees to work safely and efficiently at a greater height by reducing operational incidents, increasing productivity and reducing damage to the rack or load.

5. Maintain your machinery

Machinery is an integral part of warehousing, whether it’s used for transportation stacking or picking. You can extend the life of your machinery with regular maintenance checks to maximise performance and ensure all vehicles and equipment are working as efficiently as possible. This also helps to ensure the safety of employees.

Evaluating your needs in this way will help to ensure that you save energy and have a more productive workforce. More information from www.LindeAftersales.co.uk