Ever feel like your boss notices each time you walk to the breakroom?
Well, even if your boss isn't watching, the soda machine may be.
A Santa Rosa vending machine operator is installing a new technology that automatically senses when customers walk into the room.
It's all in the name of energy conservation, said Trey Dunia, manager at Canteen of Northern California, the largest vending machine supplier in the North Bay.
The company is equipping more than 400 of its soda dispensers with the device, an infrared laser that monitors movement in the room. The sensor turns on the machine when people are in the room and shuts it down when no one's around.
"You don't need to be spending energy to keep the beverages cold in the middle of the night," Dunia said. "So if no one walks by and trips the motion sensor, it shuts the machine down."
To keep all those sodas in a vending machine chilled 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, uses a lot of energy. So now on off-hours or holidays when workers aren't around, the machines are automatically powered down.
The effect: a reduction in energy use of about $225 a year per machine.
The savings mostly come from shutting down the compressor, which keeps the machine cool but burns a lot of energy.
Those energy savings go to the business where the machine is located, but Canteen also saves. By lowering the number of times the compressor kicks in, it extends the life of the machine and lowers maintenance costs.
"It's a good thing for us. It's a good thing for them. It's a win-win," Dunia said.
The motion sensors are part of a device called a VendingMiser. It fits onto the back of a vending machine, with the motion sensor protruding about a foot above the machine. The vending machine's power cord is plugged into the VendingMiser. When no one is around, the VendingMiser cuts the power.
"It's really simple," Dunia said.
And it's one more example of how simple solutions can save money, reduce energy and lower greenhouse gases, said Ken Moore, director of the Small Business Energy Alliance in Windsor.
The alliance paid for the VendingMisers with funding from PG&E. The organization acts as a resource for North Bay businesses looking for ways to reduce energy costs.
Under one program, the alliance conducts free energy-saving surveys for small and medium-sized businesses.
After the survey, the energy alliance provides its free assessment on how a business can reduce its energy use and save money. It also provides information on PG&E rebate programs. For instance, PG&E will pay 13 cents per kilowatt saved for lighting retrofits -- up to 100 percent of the total cost.
The Small Business Energy Alliance has been administering PG&E rebate programs since 2003 and has given out $2.3 million in the past three years. It works with businesses in Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Marin, Napa and Solano counties.
PG&E estimates the Energy Alliance program has reduced energy consumption by 4.5 megawatts, enough to power about 4,900 homes. The alliance can usually do a survey within a week of a business' request, and the savings usually pay off any costs within a year.
And that kind of return on investment is just what most small businesses want.
"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can as a small business to save us money," Dunia said.
You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com. Check out his blog at DailyGeek.Pressdemocrat.com or on twitter.com/eWords.
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