8 Energy Saving Ideas For the Loading Dock
Saving energy has become one of the top priorities for companies today. However, one of the more overlooked places for saving energy is the loading dock. In a recent study by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), only seven percent of people surveyed identified loading dock equipment as playing a role in the sustainability game. Here are 8 ways to help save energy at your loading dock.
1. Dock Doors: Forklift damage can cause major gaps around your dock doors, especially if you use standard sectional doors. Replacing the bottom panel of your overhead door with a flexible bottom panel is a cost-effective way to save your doors. You can also install fully impactable dock doors to keep air from escaping.
2. Delivery Schedules: Using a Dock Management System in combination with a Yard Management System will help keep your dock running smoothly, preventing doors from being open too long. Properly scheduling trailer loads also reduces idling time and fuel waste.
3. Compression Seals: To get the best seal around your dock doorway, use overhead doors with double-loop compression seals that are attached to the door panel instead of the jamb. This keeps the seals out of harm's way, and helps keep your dock more effectively sealed.
4. Dock Leveler Seals: If your loading dock has pit style levelers, air can be escaping around them, costing you energy. By using a weatherseal system on your levelers, you prevent conditioned air from escaping, helping regulate the temperature of your dock.
5. Dock Seals: Using dock shelters or seals help keep conditioned air inside a facility when a trailer is at the dock.
6. Restraints: Vehicle restraints play a role in energy efficiency as well. With the right vehicle or wheel restraint, the trailer is held securely to the dock, preventing air from escaping around the sides of the trailer.
7. HVLS Fans: High Volume Low Speed fans help effectively circulate air both in the summer and winter, enabling you to adjust your thermostat and save energy. They also require very little electrical draw, and some models even use solar power, reducing your carbon footprint even more.
8. LED Lighting: Switching out incandescent lightbulbs for LED docklights can reduce energy consumption by as much as 69%.
These are just a few ways that companies can save energy at the loading dock, reducing their company's carbon footprint and increasing their bottom line. Do you have more suggestions? Let us know in the comments of other ways to increase sustainability at your loading dock.