When you’re running a business, expenses are pivotal. Not only do you need to keep them down, but you also need to understand what is costing you the most and what is necessary. Lighting, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and more are important yet controllable factors that are costing businesses millions that they could be spending on something else. So, energy costs can become an important part of your overall costs.
According to figures from the UK government, it was possible to save 39 percent through efficiency improvements across every non-domestic building during the years 2014 and 2015. This is equal to 3.7 billion pounds that could have been saved on energy bills.
Costs & Savings
In the government figures, lighting accounted for over a billion of the expenses that could cut down on. Lighting consumes about 20 percent of the overall electricity used in commercial and industrial UK buildings. It also plays a more significant role in sectors such as retail and hospitality.
There are plenty of ways to cut down on these costs. For one, you should always turn off lights when you leave the room, or invest in the ones that have sensors and turn them on when someone enters them. Anything to cut down is to switch to LED lightbulbs, which are cheaper, can last a long time, and pay for themselves in a matter of months. Lighting controls, sensors, and timers can reduce energy consumption quickly, without compromising on profit.
Another sector that could be improved upon is carbon and energy management. This area has the potential to save 722 million pounds across non-domestic business sectors. Large businesses, particularly in retail, hospitality, and leisure can really benefit from these savings. Big retailers can reduce energy costs by more than 10 percent after installing a building management system that enabled them to control and monitor both heating and ventilation.
Use Smart Thermostats
A new technology that is helping businesses and families cut down on energy consumption is smart thermostats. This is a computer-controlled thermostat that gives you the ability to control the temperature of the office, retail store, or factory when you are away from the building. Not only can you save money by turning the heat off when you don’t need it, but you can also get the building ready for when people arrive.
In addition, according to the site MoneyPug, which is used as one of the most effective energy compare sites, these thermostats have sophisticated features like machine learning and the ability to adjust for your schedule and weather conditions.
Switch Suppliers
If you haven’t switched energy suppliers in more than three years, you should look into it. Usually, after this amount of time, you will need to switch to get the best deal. What normally happens is that the provider bumps you up to their standard rate without telling you. Needless to say, this won’t be the best deal. Put the time in to find the best rate and you will save a lot simply by doing so.
What these Savings Mean
With large-scale solutions like Combined Heat and Power (CHP) available, businesses can reduce energy bills by 20-30 percent. This method allows companies to capture heat that would have been wasted by other processes. It works well for clusters of office retail buildings that require a high level of heat and power, which provides them the ability to control energy productions based on their own needs. While incentives around energy efficiency tend to focus on the possible benefits financially, public businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors have other reasons to make these improvements.
As we use increasing amounts of energy, technology is also helping us cut down. There are new methods to save energy popping up every day, it is only your responsibility as a business owner to use them. Whether you have a large business with multiple sites and hundreds of employees or a single store, slashing energy costs can put more money in your pocket to invest in the business. Profits will increase. Costs will go down. You will be saving more and more every day. So what are you waiting for? Use these tips and look for more to find out all the ways you could be saving and what you should do to get started.
