One type of building that does not often get mentioned in energy conservation discussion is commercial warehouses and storage facilities.  In order to conserve energy in these spaces it is important to identify defficiencies.  These buildings are unique in that the inhabitants do not desire typical interior temperatures, however, some products and materials held in warehouses require to be stored at a certain climate.  For this reason heating and cooling loads can still be a large contributor to a warehouse's energy consumption.  In most cases, however, lighting often leads to a large portion of energy consumption.

To correct these energy deficiencies in warehouses and cut back on energy consumption, several things can be done.  Michael Koploy, manager of Warehouse Management Systems Guide website, recently took some time to meet with a few professionals on the topic to compile a list of energy retrofits that can help warehouse managers have a more energy efficient facility and save more money.  The list of 9 Energy Retrofits to Reduce Energy Consumption provides cost effective solutions to acheive many benefits.

A few energy retrofit ideas from the article include:

Installing solar light tubes to help natural light effectively penetrate into spaces on the warehouse floor.

Replacing halogen and incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent and LED lighting.  These lights are cool buring, consume less energy and last longer, while offering superior light levels.

Controlling these lights with automatic occupancy sensor switches will help save more energy by automatically turning lights on and off by detecting motion or lack of motion on a certain area of the warehouse floor.

Using a white roof membrane to help reflect light that will otherwise be absorbed by a traditional dark roof and contribute to heating loads.

Deploy destratification fans to help keep warm air down in colder climates will help cut back on heating bills.

And of course, insulating a building with spray in foam or batt insulation is a common energy retrofit for any structure with conditioned spaces.