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A recent article in Information Week on getting started with your energy efficiency program had a few good tips that are worth sharing.

• Identify current power usage
  Use real data which measures power utilization on an hourly basis. Contact your utility provider if you have to.
• Understand how the bulk of your energy is consumed.
  Once you've identified the peak load times, identify the major culprits. Is it a production line or particular piece of production equipment? Air conditioning for your data center? Consider getting an independent energy audit.
• Look for ways to minimize energy use at peak times.
  Set your charging units to kick in after midnight ... not when the batteries are plugged in when people leave at 5:00 pm. Adopt a casual work environment and turn the thermostat up (to 25C) in the summer, down (to 17C) in the winter, and consider instituting a siesta. And if you run a data center, fight to bring back liquid cooling. Why try to cool an entire room when the only part of the machine in danger of overheating in a standard operating environment is the CPU?
• Sniff the Air
  Compressed air, like electricity, is often a necessary evil in many industries, but it is not monitored closely and systems are typically laden with leaks. Every leak (exponentially) increases the energy required to maintain the pressure.
• Mechanical Drive Trains Use Energy Too
  And just like variable rate motors can save energy, so can different types of gear reducers.