5 Tips to Save your Business Energy and Money
The need for more energy efficient practices in the workplace has never been more pressing. Energy bills are rising and the Government continues to heap pressure on firms that produce high carbon emissions. Sooner or later, energy efficiency will be a priority for all companies – assuming that is not already the case. Indeed, many firms are relying on uSwitchforbusiness and other such services to find the cheapest tariffs, but what else can be done to save energy? Provided below are five top tips.
1. Conduct an energy audit
Accepting that changes are necessary is one thing, knowing where to make the changes is quite another. In order to ensure that energy usage is as efficient as possible, businesses should invest in an energy audit to identify areas for improvement. A comprehensive energy audit is also useful for making a before and after comparison of changes.
2. Install a smart meter
Smart meters monitor all aspects of electricity usage. Providing businesses with invaluable data on energy consumption, including details of all individual items of equipment, the smart meter is able to identify areas in which energy savings can be made. It may be the case that shifting working hours forward by half an hour could save a firm money on a particular energy tariff. It is also possible that one or two appliances – perhaps a faulty kettle or old microwave in the staff canteen – happen to be responsible for a significant proportion of all energy wastage. The smart meter enables companies to make informed decisions as to how they use business energy.
3. Educate workers
Workers are responsible for much of the energy waste by firms. The problem is that many staff are unaware of their impact on energy bills, much less motivated to make changes for the better. Employers must instigate change by educating and instructing the team. Simple changes such as turning off monitors when computers (which should be set to sleep or hibernate) are left idle or closing windows during the colder months can make all the difference.
4. Install new lighting
Commercial lighting is wasted in abundance. Most office buildings are lit throughout the day and night, regardless as to specific requirements. Open place offices tend to be the worst offenders, keeping entire floors lit when only a corner of the office is in operation. While lights can be turned on and off manually, the cheapest and most effective solution is to install energy efficient tube or spot lighting with motion sensor controls. These ensure that lights are only every switched on when people are present in a room.
5. Turn down the heating
Finally, companies ought to turn down the heat on occasion. Current research claims that turning down the thermostat by just one degree can save up to 8 per cent on heating bills, which is certainly no hardship if workers learn to close the windows during the winter!