Small Business
Small businesses rely on energy to provide comfortable and welcoming spaces.
Discover new ways managing energy can increase profitability and employee and customer satisfaction.
How You Benefit
- Increase profitability through long-term reductions in energy costs
- Create comfortable and productive environments for your employees and customers
- Enhance your brand reputation as a community sustainability leader
- Attract employees and customers seeking sustainability-minded businesses
- Reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to a cleaner and healthier community
Key Energy Saving Opportunities
1. High-Efficiency Lighting Design
Upgrading to energy-efficient lighting is an easy, low-cost, and impactful way to save energy for a small business. In comparison to conventional lighting options, high-efficiency lighting uses less energy, costs less to operate, and can last much longer than traditional options—up to 25 years. Consider also using daylighting to bring more natural light into your space, creating an inviting and comfortable environment.
Learn more about high-efficiency lighting
2. Building Envelope Upgrades
Building envelope improvements, such as increasing insulation or weatherstripping windows, can be a low-cost, effective way to improve the comfort of your building. Making improvements helps to both regulate your indoor temperature control and air quality and protect against drafts and condensation. These upgrades also help ensure your heating and cooling systems are performing optimally, saving you energy and money.
Learn more about building envelope upgrades
3. Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System Upgrades
Heating and cooling is often the largest expense for small businesses. By properly maintaining equipment or upgrading to high-efficiency HVAC systems, you can improve your business’s energy performance. If your system is more than 10 years old or is not working effectively, consider upgrading to a newer, more energy-efficient model or technology, such as a cold-climate heat pump. Newer systems can improve employee and customer comfort with better climate and temperature control.
4. Solar
With the cost of solar power rapidly declining, solar is a smart business decision for small businesses. You can capitalize on financial opportunities to either install solar at your business or participate in a community solar project—a collective array of panels installed in an off-site location, allowing you to access benefits from solar. Through solar, you can both lower your operating costs through reduced electricity bills and contribute to a cleaner, healthier community.
5. Clean Heating and Cooling
Clean heating and cooling systems, including air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, and heat pump water heaters, make it possible for businesses to keep employees comfortable year-round, save energy, and reduce their carbon footprint. Heat pumps work by drawing heat from the environment and moving it indoors to heat or moving it outdoors to cool buildings. Compared to fossil fuel equipment, heat pumps have a longer lifespan and enable greater temperature customization and control for different zones throughout a building.
NYSERDA Programs and Resources
- Small Business and Not-for-Profit Financing - access to low-interest financing for energy efficiency projects
- Small Commercial and Not for Profits Energy Studies - access to cost-share funding for a custom study to identify efficiency improvements and potential incentives and low-cost financing options for putting energy-saving measures into action.
- Regional Clean Energy Hubs - provide information to small businesses about the benefits of the clean energy economy, ways to reduce energy use and costs, and how to make more informed energy decisions.
Federal Programs and Resources
- Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - explore IRA tax credits to save on solar, electric vehicles, energy storage, and energy efficiency improvements for your small business.
Utility Programs and Resources
- Small Business Direct Install (NSYEG)
- free audits and rebates worth up to 60 percent of the cost of recommended equipment upgrades for small business customers - Small Savings Rewards (NYSEG) - incentives to reduce electricity usage during periods of peak demand for small business customers
- The Neighborhood Program (Con Edison) - free energy assessments and recommendations for lighting and refrigeration improvements for small business customers
- Small Business Equipment Upgrades (Con Edison) - free energy audits and incentives to upgrade equipment (HVAC, refrigeration, etc.) for small business customers
- Small Business Direct Install Lighting Program (Central Hudson)
- incentives to make energy-efficient LED lighting upgrades for small business customers - Small Business Lighting Audit (Central Hudson) - free lighting audits for small business customers with under 120 kW of demand
- Small Business Program (National Grid) - Offers no-cost facility audits for small business customers (with a 12 -month average under 110kW) and direct installation of energy efficiency measures
For a full list of programs, visit our energy programs and incentives page.
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