4 Ways To Help Your Business Exterior Become More Enviromentally Friendly

Posted on: 14 January 2015

Businesses are always looking for ways to save money and be environmentally friendly at the same time. When you have a storefront to take care of, your main priorities are drawing in customers while saving money at the same time.

By making a few simple changes you can enhance the look for your business, save money on energy bills, and help the environment at the same time.

Replace Neon Lighting

For businesses open at night, neon lighting is a traditional way to showcase open stores, specials, and sponsored products. While neon lighting is effective, the technology has become outdated. New and modern technology will work better and help your business in multiple ways. Consider an alternative option like LED Channel Letters. The signs can be customized in a number of ways and remove the disadvantages of neon lighting.

  • Sensitivity: The thin tubing in neon lights can easily or break or get damaged. Replacing it with a durable LED lighting can prevent wasted money and resources with broken neon signs.
  • Mercury: Neon lights have mercury built into the tubes. The mercury is burned off to help created the light, but it can be a dangerous substance if a human is exposed to it. By completely replacing the neon lights, you can easily remove any threat of mercury for your business.
  • Electricity Use: Neon lights will consume more electricity than modem LED lights. This can heavily increase costs on your electric bill and monthly budget.

When choosing LED lights, there are additional steps you can take to help cut down on energy resources and save money in the long run. One of the best steps is to choose reverse channel letters. This is essentially lighting the back of the letters instead of having lights on every letter. When implemented, there will be a small glow behind the words in your sign. This makes the sign easy to read at night and uses a lot less light.

Solar Powered Signs

Another option for LED signs is to attach them to a small solar panel. With a solar panel attached to the roof of your business, you can easily connect the sign and save energy by relying purely on the power of the sun. The investment in a solar panel will get paid off as you save money each month on an electric bill.

When choosing to install a solar powered sign, it's a good idea to consult with a solar expert on how much power you need for the signs. This will help you pick the ideal panel size and installation position.

Recycling Bins

It's common for many types of business to feature a trash bin in front of the store front. Instead of just placing a trash bin at your business, witness the big difference you can make by placing a recycling bin there. When the option is available, more people will choose to recycle items and create less waste.

There are multiple options for this process. You can choose to take care of the recycling yourself by bringing it to a local center or sign up for recycling program where your bins are automatically managed and taken care of. Look into different programs and the budget that you can afford to offer this service for customers.

Green Roofs

Another environmentally-friendly option for the exterior of your business is a green roof option. There are many easy ways to help create a green roof and promote green living for your business.

  • Stone Pathways: Instead of a pure blacktop that absorbs sun and heat, a stone pathway can help reflect light and reduce energy costs.
  • Grass Patches: Green roofing professionals can install patches of grass to your roof. This will help absorb rain water, absorb sunlight, and give back to the Earth's atmosphere.
  • Gardens: Along with grass patches, you can add gardens to the roof. This includes fresh vegetables, flowers, or a number of other items. There are plenty of low-maintenance gardens available in case you do not have the time to manage a variety of plants.

Instead of implementing all of the steps in one huge project, you can implement each step a little at a time to make it more manageable. Plan out everything well ahead of time so you have complete control.

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