Due to the rise of water, gas, and electricity prices, it has become more important for vet clinics to secure a better relationship between utility rates and available finances. This article looks at how pet clinics can provide the best services to keep pets healthy and save on utility costs. There are many things that veterinary clinics can do to save on utility bills without having to compromise on growth.
Clinic Location
The location of your vet clinic can have a big impact on your utility bills. If your business is located far from water or energy sources, supply services will be more expensive. Your clinic will have to pay more for infrastructure upkeep of gas lines and water pipes. Unless you’ve upgraded it, the age of the building that your clinic operates out of can increase utility costs. Newer wiring and plumbing in the building will lead to more effective utility supply and consumption. The size of your clinic premises will also affect utility bills. If your clinic is small, it will use less water and energy. Should this be too expensive for you to afford on your own, you can consider partnering with another veterinarian and sharing the practice, including its bills.
Water and Energy Audits
The first logical thing to do is determine how much electricity, gas, and water your vet clinic uses. This can be done by performing water and energy audits on your premises, building, and bills. You can do the audit yourself or hire a professional auditor to come out and perform a more thorough audit. The auditor will provide you with a report that gives an entire layout of the clinic’s energy and water consumption. This includes how much of each utility is used and where. The report will also state where utilities are being wasted and by how much. Energy efficiency and water-saving tips are given in the report. If you hire an auditor, they will keep in touch with your clinic to see how your utility saving is progressing. They will also make sure that your water and energy tariffs are fair.
Compare and Switch Suppliers
Once you know how much water and energy your clinic uses and what the right tariff is, you can try to find the best deal for your business. Before looking at other suppliers, you should bargain with your current water and energy suppliers to see if they can give you a better deal. If you don’t get a better quote from them, you should consider a new supplier. There are business utility comparison companies that are helping clinics with getting better utility rates for your business. You can pick the supplier that offers options fitting your budget and needs. The comparison company will assist you with the entire switching process as well.
Tools and Equipment
It is important to keep the equipment in your vet clinic in good condition. Not only are they very expensive, but they will use fewer utilities when they function at their best. Your tools and equipment need to be sterilised and cleaned after every use. You need to do regular maintenance checks on all systems and equipment in your clinic to make sure that there are no problems. If you do find any problems, they need to be fixed as soon as possible to make sure no expensive problems happen in the future. If anything has to be replaced, you should invest in more sustainable equipment that will use less energy.
Lighting, Heating, and Cooling
Switch all traditional lights in your clinic with LED bulbs. Switch lights off in areas that aren’t being used. Install sensors that turn lights on when motion is picked up and timers that turn lights off after a set amount of time. Make sure of as much natural sunlight as possible by having big windows and opening the curtains. Just make sure that the windows are double-glazed to keep the heat and cold out, respectively. Keep the doors and windows closed so that heat or cold doesn’t escape and cause the boiler or air conditioner to work harder than needed. Make sure that your clinic is well-insulated and draught-proof. Install a smart thermostat that regulates the temperature according to the time of day and weather outside.
Save Water
All taps in your clinic need to use low-flow and aerated water. You can install sensors so that water only flows when someone holds their hands at a certain place and timers that turn the water off after a few seconds. This ensures that people don’t waste water by leaving the tap open. Toilets need to be dual flush so that less water is used with every flush. Make sure that the laundry machine is full before turning it on. Water from taps and the laundry machine can be recycled and used for irrigation. Rainwater capturing can be used to gather water for handwashing and laundry.
Another useful way to save water is to introduce dog wipes when taking care of dogs that visit your practice.
Employee Involvement
Saving water and energy at your clinic isn’t something you can do on your own. You need to involve your employees in all utility-saving initiatives. It is important to make them more aware of how much energy and water are being wasted and how they can be saved. They need to be educated on how important it is to save energy and water and trained in the ways that they can help. You need to assign someone, or even a team, to oversee the saving processes. Make use of signs and posts to remind everyone about the responsibility of saving water and energy in the clinic and how they can do it. Make sure that there is a way for employees to give feedback about the saving initiatives and for them to give any ideas that they might have. You can use incentives and rewards to motivate participation.
Conclusion
This article looked at ways that vet clinics can keep their patients and finances healthy by securing better utility rates. The ways that clinics can save water and energy include the clinic location, water and energy audits, comparing and switching suppliers, tools and equipment, lighting, heating, and cooling, saving water, and employee involvement. As far as advice to pet owners are concerned, vets may want to refer pet parents to https://www.caringpets.org/.