Reducing energy consumption is usually a key objective when improving the sustainability of cleaning operations. Using less energy saves money but also protects valuable resources and reduces CO2 emissions associated with burning fossil fuels in power stations or heating water on-site. There are some simple but effective ways to save energy in cleaning.
Choose the Right Product.
Selecting the correct product for any given task reduces the need for repeat cleaning which avoids additional water heating and electrical equipment running costs let alone savings in time and product consumption.
Think Lower Temperatures
It costs money and takes time to heat water to the proper working temperature. Instead, switch to cleaning products that work at lower temperatures. Alternative low-temperature formulations are available for key tasks such as general cleaning, floorcare and laundry (including disinfection). They will deliver payback from day one. Many can be swapped into existing processes with minimal need for retraining or significant change.
Switching to a lower temperature laundry product, for example, can save around 35% on water heating costs, consume 34% less water and cut wash time by almost 20% ? all excellent sustainability gains.
Incidentally, avoid any process that involves adding cold water to hot water to cool it down to a comfortable temperature. This is wasteful and inefficient. But it is easily done when preparing solutions for tasks such as hand dishwashing or surface cleaning with handcloths. Instead, try to use equipment that heats the water to the correct temperature and no higher.
Maintain Existing Equipment Properly
Inefficiencies waste energy. Always complete routine and scheduled maintenance for equipment at the correct time. Equipment used in hard water areas can be prone to lime-scale. This can accumulate and restrict the passage of water and impact on the equipment's reliability. It can also affect the sensors that regulate temperatures so that the equipment heats water to the wrong temperature for optimum performance.
Limescale also limits the efficiency of the heating element. This means more energy will be required to heat the same amount of water. Studies have shown that each millimetre of scale inside the heating element will add around eight to ten per cent on energy costs for a typical commercial laundry or dishwashing machine. Regular descaling with a specialist product or switching to formulations that prevent lime-scale will help prevent this issue.
Consider Completely Different Processes
Sometimes a different approach pays dividends. Microfibre, for example, when used with water alone for general surface cleaning offers a double win. No chemicals are used which means there is no need to heat a solution to a recommended working temperature.
Adopt Modern Cleaning Machines
These are generally far more energy-efficient than the models they replace. Recent changes to EU regulations covering vacuum cleaners led the design team at TASKI to devise the innovative models in our TASKI AERO range. These are quieter and consume around half the energy yet have the suction and performance of conventional machines rated at over 1000W. This helps them to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 60 per cent.
Other parts of the extensive TASKI floorcare range reflect this step-change in sustainability. The latest-generation scrubber driers ? the TASKI swingo 2100 micro is the newest model ? reduce energy consumption by up to 30 per cent and water consumption by up to 76 per cent compared with conventional machines. All of this quickly delivers savings on running costs.
At Diversey, we can advise on the most efficient combination of our products for specific applications to save energy in cleaning. We offer proper documentation with tools and calculators to help assess the savings you can make.
