Given the rising cost of electricity, you certainly don’t want your electric bill to be any higher than it has to be. Your barn may be a source of wasted energy, though, resulting in higher bills. Check out these common ways that your barn may be inefficient with its electricity usage.

Running Old Refrigerators

Old refrigerators are common in barns, but they may be wasting energy while not doing a great job of cooling. If your barn’s refrigerator is old, consider buying a new one. The money you spend on it can pay off in lowered electric bills.

Looking for a use for that old fridge? A refrigerator disconnected and placed on its back can create an excellent feed storage bin, since the door, now on top, will close securely to keep rodents out.

Using Inefficient Lights

Old barn lighting may be upping your electric bill. Inefficient barn lights can require a lot of power to put out relatively little light. As a result you need a lot of lights, drawing even more energy.

Instead of wasting electricity using inefficient lights, install new barn lighting and use energy-efficient bulbs. Check out the bulbs that you’re using in your indoor arena, too, and see if a better option is available.

Even better, consider installing skylights or new barn windows to take advantage of the natural light when it’s available. Solar panels are another great idea, since you can harness the sun’s power and store it for when you need it.

Leaving Lights On

You can conserve a lot of energy simply by turning your barn lights off when you’re not using them. Be sure that lights are turned off whenever no one is in the barn. The same is true of turning off other devices, like radios. To save extra electricity, fully unplug the devices when they are not in use.

Running Fans in the Summer

Running fans in the summer is a popular way to help keep the barn temperature down, and the moving air has the added benefit of helping to cut down on flies in your barn. However, fans do use energy, especially if you have multiple fans running for hours each day.

Instead of relying on fans for air flow, design your barn to maximize air circulation. Open stall plans with European style stalls create a barn atmosphere that is both airy and bright, reducing the use of fans and barn lights. Classic Equine Equipment also offers stall doors that are ventilated for additional air flow, while stalls can be created with a grill bottom partition.

Wasted electricity and energy means wasted money in your barn. Fixing just one or two of these issues can lead to big savings over the course of a year.

Photo source: http://www.classic-equine.com/posts/european-series/

Original source: Is Your Barn Energy Efficient?