Five Top Tips for businesses on how to save Energy.

How we ultimately view energy as a nation is changing. From tighter guidelines to challenging our perceptions of fossil fuels, there can be no doubt that the economy’s focus is shifting toward greener and cleaner sources of energy. 

     With a plethora of energy-saving measures your business could undertake, we’ve hand-selected five top-tips on how your business could save money, and potentially earn too:

1)Monitor your energy consumption

    At around 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions traceable to heating, almost half of that is used by industrial and commercial properties. Monitoring your output and finding ways to reduce your output, is arguably one of the best methods to reduce Scope 2 emissions.

     Installing an energy monitor or smart meter can be a very efficient way of tracking energy usage. Usually installed for free, such devices can help highlight if there are periods of high and perhaps unnecessary energy consumption.

    There is also a range of energy monitoring software that track the data of energy consumption and can optimise and regulate the temperature in different rooms. For example, rather than turn a boiler on to heat an entire building, a smart monitoring meter could optimise individual rooms for when they are in and out of use, creating greater energy efficiency; after all, who wants to waste their money heating an empty room? For more on smart meters click here  

2)Use Smart Plugs 

   Smart plugs are devices that help optimise power usage during periods of inactivity; we’ve all been guilty of leaving the television on standby or just putting our laptop to sleep rather than turning it off and unplugging it. This is known as The Vampire Draw.

    Investing in a smart plug is a simple but very effective way of saving energy. With a smart plug, you can activate and deactivate devices such as computers and printers with the press of a button or via an app. 

    The plugs themselves only use 1-2 Watts of energy and can save you up to 8.76KWh of electricity over one year. For a business, this translates to a significant saving for a small, cheap piece of tech. 

3) Solar panel installation 

Whether your business is big or small, there are many practical benefits for installing solar panels. Commercial roof spaces tend to be ideal for solar installation which makes them a sensible investment. As most businesses operate during the day, utilising the potential of green energy within your business can make a significant impact. 

    And whether looking to reduce your carbon footprint, secure your energy supply, or just save money, solar panels are one of the cleanest and most efficient ways of producing energy for your company. 

4)Solar Battery installation

Want to get the most out of your solar panels? If you already have solar panels installed, or just looking for the potential ways to maximise the full potential of solar panels, you could install a solar battery. Solar batteries store excess electricity produced by the solar panels and can be used either in the evening or at a later date. 

    Storing energy is ideal in a number of situations. For example, if your company is open during the evenings, stored energy can be used whilst the photovoltaic panels are not operating. Using your stored energy during the evening results in a much cheaper method of electricity. Conversely, if you operate a business that only operates 9-5, you could take advantage of the long summer days by selling your electricity back to the grid; you see, there is a way to make money too.   

5)Setting up a corporate power purchase agreement

Entering an era where we’re all becoming much more aware of how we use energy, where it is coming from and the impact our businesses are having on the environment, a corporate power purchase agreement may be the way to go.

    A corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) allows a business to know the exact source of its green energy, or even the potential to produce its own. Whilst being tied into a long contract may not be ideal for some SMEs, a CPPA is a sure-fire way of offsetting your carbon footprint and saving you money against future energy rises. 

    For more information or support about how to save money and cut down on your carbon footprint, don’t hesitate, just click here.