Reduce the impact of high energy costs for your business
Here you can find ways to reduce your businesses energy use to save money and reduce your carbon emissions in your commercial property.
In today’s world, high energy prices are increasing the running costs for businesses, and we understand the need to save money on these bills. We have compiled some actions to quickly reduce your business energy usage, what to consider in the longer term and what external support is avaliable.
Monitor your energy usage
Monitoring your consumption can help you make decisions about what appliances can be costing you more than expected and can help if you haven’t looked at your energy deal in a while.
Install a smart meter
Ask us about installing a smart meter. You can get one installed directly for your business if you’re eligible and can provide real time information about your business’ energy and gas consumption. They also allow you to access a wider range of energy deals including Smart Tariffs.
Install a sub-meter
Electrical sub-metering involves the installation of additional meters downstream of your main utility meter.
It allows businesses to monitor individual areas of buildings, equipment and specific areas of your building. This is useful for businesses, such as industrial and manufacturing, having issues with their equipment can have dedicated metering to monitor the quality of their power supply.
Switch off default
If you are a new tenant, switched premises or your last contract ended without a renewal plan, you may be on a default tariff. These types of tariffs are usually the most costly so check with your provider what other deals or tariffs are avaliable.
If your contract is about to expire, shop around to find the best deal as your current company may switch you to the default tariff and you haven’t spoken to them about a renew package.
Low and No Cost Usage
Adjust your Thermostat
Changing the temperature on your thermostats is an easy way to save energy usage. Find the ideal temperatures based on your businesses activity levels:
- Idle or sitting at a desk for most of the day 19℃ – 21℃
- Active and moving around frequently 16℃ – 19℃
- Vacant and out of hours minimum 7℃
You can programme most thermostats to turn off and on at set hours, but ensure you set a minimum temperature of 7℃ to avoid pipes freezing. In the winter, it is recommended to set your heating to minimum 16℃ overnight so you don’t use as much energy heating it up for the next day, especially during the colder months. Please be aware 16℃ is also the recommended minimum temperature from the Governments Health and Safety executive.
Move Your Thermostat
Thermostats wont always be accurate if they’re located in the wrong place. If your thermostat has sunlight shining on it, is above or near a radiator or fan, it wont be able to give accurate readings of the temperature of the room. This means it tells your heating or cooling systems to reach the wrong temperature.
Move your thermostat to a location on interior walls, out of direct sunlight, away from radiators, fans and draughts.
Draught Proof Windows and Doors
Doors and windows can be a major source of heat loss in your building. You can reduce heat loss by making sure draught proofing is in place properly.
However, air needs to flow in and out so the building stays fresh, dry and healthy. Make sure you don’t block or seal any intentional ventilation. This includes extractor fans, wall vents and trickle vents – which are usually at the top of windows.
Check you Refrigeration Efficiency
You can save on energy costs with regular fridge/freezer maintenance. Some low and no cost ways to do this are
- making sure fridges are no more than 75% full
- relocating fridges away from heat sources and draughts
- keeping condensers and evaporators and freezer compartments clean and frost-free
Longer term Energy Saving Solutions
Invest in Energy Efficient Lighting
If you have older fluorescent lighting in your office or retail unit, this can cost your business money over time. Upgrading to LEDs can have up to 80% of lighting costs – depending on the efficiency of lighting you had previously. Do should, however, take into account that LEDs can be a higher upfront cost to purchase but you will be able to work back the payback time on them. There are plenty of online tools to help you with this.
Replacing older appliances
Although this will be a high initial cost, replacing older appliances with new and more efficient models can be a great energy saver. From 2020 the energy efficiency ratings were re-scaled, meaning appliance companies had to step up their game to create appliances that rated highly on the scale. Pre-2020 an A+++ would now be rated a B or C on the new scale.
Investing in new office appliances will be a large upfront cost and your business can weigh up the costs and benefits over time.
