If you have an outdoor shop or barn that you keep powered on your property, being energy-efficient is one of the best ways to keep your energy bill as low as you can. Aside from saving energy, an efficient outdoor building can keep the environment around your structure healthy and safe, save you money on your water bill, keep your animals happier and healthier, and save you from costly structural repairs.
If you’re looking to build a new structure, follow these tips to make your outdoor shop or barn more energy-efficient.
Location matters: If possible, carefully consider where you build your shop or barn, thinking about drainage, sun exposure and how the building may affect your neighbors.
Start with a sustainable design plan that, according to the U.S. General Services Administration, includes the ability to use environmentally preferable products, protect and conserve water, enhance indoor environmental quality, and optimize operational and maintenance practices.
If you’re hiring a contractor to help build your structure, make sure you look for companies that specialize in “green” buildings and energy-efficient practices.
Choose efficient building methods: Pole barns offer reliable shelter without costly excavation, concrete foundations or general site disruption.
Follow these tips to make energy-efficient upgrades to an existing structure.
Replace fluorescent indoor lighting with energy-efficient LED bulbs.
Ensure the structure has adequate insulation levels.
When choosing energy-efficient outdoor lighting, install motion detectors to turn lights off when no one is around.
Plant trees around your metal shed or barn: In colder climates, trees act as a windbreak, and in warmer climates, trees have a natural cooling effect that can reduce temperatures in your metal building 3–6 degrees.
Consider adding a ceiling fan to circulate cooler air in the summer and push down warmer air in the winter; typically, there’s a 2-degree temperature increase for every 1-foot increase in ceiling height.
To learn more about how to make your outdoor shop or barn more energy-efficient, contact the energy experts at your electric cooperative.
