Is Your Office’s Floor Doing Its Part to Go Green?
Whether individual people or large businesses need to step up and lead the way to greener habits has been an ongoing discussion for years. Having an office, or owning the office, is an unenviable middle ground between the two sides, especially because it’s difficult to use greener office practices as a marketing tool. But greener construction practices can do more than set the stage for others to follow or to gain appeal to your consumers; it’s a good way to save money. Here’s how:
Ask your city and state and tax incentives for green or recycled materials.
The tax code is tricky, and that’s not going to go away anytime soon. That means there’s a lot of unseen ground when it comes to potential exemptions, discounts, and green business expenses. Ask your more local governments for information to see what kind of incentives you’re eligible for. Even if you don’t get the tax-based savings you have in mind, getting the attention of your local chamber of commerce can get you some good ideas and offers you might not have otherwise seen, like free solar panels and excess supply from local constructions projects.
Build passive heating into the floor.
Thermal mass can either be your friend or your enemy. With sealed office windows, dark commercial roofing, and the stagnant hustle and bustle of hundreds of corporate workers, it can seem like the building is working against you. The next room you have to replace the floors, change the status quo by installing a system of narrow pipes and hoses that can cycle cooled or heated liquid. Using this method of temperature control has consistently been proven as one of the most efficient ways to keep environments comfortable, but it’s hard to implement halfway.
This heating and cooling method is efficient, with minimal temperature loss and easy control. Even better, you can keep your HVAC system focused on ventilation and pushing out the germs than trying to keep the temperature just right.
Going green doesn’t have to be a pipe dream that can’t fit in the budget. Find the right trends and tools to take the edge off your monthly bills and energy footprint. Go to Tangram to get started with more design tips.
