6 Ways to Save Money Expanding Your Industrial Building

With the need to increase capacity to meet growing demands many industrial building owners are expanding their operations. But the decision is not always an easy one to make due to the potential costs of construction to meet the unique needs of the growing operation. While it is often less expensive to expand an industrial building than to relocate, there are several ways owners can save money on expansion costs.

1. Economic development incentives

Many localities, including Orange County, Florida, have economic development incentives to attract and retain growing businesses in the community. These incentives can help defray the cost of expansion. When expanding industrial buildings, owners and stakeholders should contact their local economic development department to find out what incentives are available for expanding their operations.

2. Consult with a design-build contractor

Industrial building owners can save a lot of money, eliminate cost overruns and minimize delays by consulting with a design build commercial contractor like New Horizons Construction Services for building expansion. The design-build contractor manages the entire construction process from design to completion with a complete cost estimate for the entire expansion project. This eliminates the need for companies to contract and manage individual contractors like architects, builders, engineers, landscapers, etc. for each piece of the project.

3. Use durable, less costly building materials

Using less costly building materials without sacrificing use or durability is another way to reduce building expansion costs. But the key is knowing which materials are best for your construction project. Industrial building owners can eliminate the costs and guesswork by incorporating the value engineering principle into the design-build contract. This is the best way to ensure they are getting the best quality build for the lowest possible costs.

4. Incorporate daylight harvesting

There is more to the cost of expansion than the cost of construction. There are also the operational costs once the expansion is complete. But by incorporating daylight harvesting into the building control system can save money on the day-to-day industrial operational costs. Daylight harvesting automatically adjusts the building lights based on the available daylight shining through. This can substantially reduce energy costs.

5. Install energy-efficient heating/cooling systems

Heating and cooling costs for industrial buildings can be 30% or more of energy costs. However, installing new high-efficiency HVAC, lighting, chillers and boiler units can significantly reduce power consumption which can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars in annual savings.

6. Recycle rainwater

Water is a necessity for many industrial buildings. And expansion often means higher water usage. In an effort to both conserve water and save money, industrial buildings can adopt commercial rainwater harvesting for their primary water supply and use reclaimed water for their irrigation. To show that recycled rainwater is cleaner than groundwater, the UC Davis Winery partnered with GE in a pilot program that uses recycled rainwater to produce wine.