If you are a new business or an existing business moving premises, you need to set up your business energy. This blog will help you set it up for the first time.
There are many ways you can save money on your business energy bills, but one of the most effective things you can do is to make your business more energy efficient. Probably the best place to start would be to conduct an energy audit. This will require you to look into your whole business and see where you use energy, and how much you are potentially wasting. Once you know you can then figure out whether any of this energy consumption can be replaced with more efficient methods.
Tips for saving energy
There are many things you can do to make your business more energy efficient and there are multiple reasons for doing this. It may be that you want to save money on your energy bills, or you may be doing it to do your bit for the environment. Whatever yours reasons for wanting to cut down on your energy consumption, we have some tips for you;
Switch off equipment when not in use
This may sound like an obvious thing to say but switching off equipment that is not currently in use can help save you much wasted energy. Individually, equipment that is unnecessarily left on may not cost a lot of money, but when you spread this across all your appliances that have been left on it can add up. If the appliance doesn’t need to be on for any reason, switch it off until it’s needed.
Buy appliances with a good energy rating
Inefficient equipment can have a huge impact on your energy bills. You should look at replacing all your outdated appliances with models that have a good energy rating. You could make savings in the long run by doing this. This includes switching your lighting to energy saving light bulbs. Not only do they save money on your energy bills, they also last longer, which means you have to replace them less often.
Install timers or sensors for lighting
This is along the same lines as switching off equipment when not in use. If you have timers or sensors installed, it minimises the amount of time that lights are on unnecessarily. It would also be a good idea to take advantage of natural daylight, as by making use of open windows and skylights you can reduce the amount of electricity you use for lighting.
Go paperless
This may not seem like a big one but it can make a difference. The less paper you use, the less energy you will waste on printing. The bonus of doing this is that you will also spend less money on the likes of ink cartridges and paper itself.
Improve the insulation in your building
It may not be cheap to adequately insulate your building but it could be greatly beneficial in the long run as there will be less of a need to use energy to heat up the premises. You should also search the building to see if there are any cracks in the walls or windows that can be filled in to reduce the amount of heat loss. As well as saving money on your energy bills, a correctly insulated building could improve the comfort of your employees.
Cut down your water usage
It does take up energy to pump and heat water, if you can minimise your water usage where possible it will make a difference. Whatever type of business you run there are decisions that can be made. You could fit low-flow taps in your bathrooms and kitchens, as well as low-flow shower heads and waterless urinals.
Invest in a programmable thermostat
It can be tricky keeping the temperature at your business at the correct level, but having a programmable thermostat installed can make this process much easier, and also minimises wasted energy, as you can make sure you are only using energy during business hours. Other ways of keeping your energy bill lower are;
Lowering your temperature in your building by just 1 degree can make a big difference in how much energy you use. The 1 degree change will not affect the comfort of your staff either.
Radiators should be unobstructed as the room will be more efficiently heated if the radiators are clear of any obstacles such as desks or cupboards.
Make sure you are not heating any unused areas. If there is no reason to have a room heated, then make sure it isn’t, as you don’t want to use up your energy for no good reason.
Improve brand reputation
The benefits of making your business more energy efficient does not stop at saving money on your bills. As a population we are becoming more aware of the potential damage being caused to the environment, and from this more people are environmentally conscious. Some people will choose to use brands that are doing their bit for the environment, so if people are aware of you doing what you can to minimise your energy usage, it could attract their custom.
There are many reasons why you should make your business more energy efficient, and you can do this without breaking the bank. You could save money, do your bit for the environment and gain customers.