How to Save Energy: Preparation
- Wednesday, December 14, 2022
- Posted By The Growth Company
Since 2021, energy costs have more than doubled for businesses across all sectors.
The government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme will end in April 2023. This provides a temporary grace period for many, but it's important to note that energy prices will remain extremely high by historical standards after the scheme ends. Businesses need to be prepared for this.
So, how can you use this grace period as productively as possible to minimise your energy consumption?
GC Business Growth Hub has outlined three big steps you can act on immediately, at low or no cost, to prepare your business for successfully identifying and delivering a range of energy saving projects.
As the saying goes: if you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
Understanding where and when you’re using energy is a vital pre-requisite to identifying and quantifying good energy saving projects. You can do this in a number of ways, depending on your circumstances:
Tracking energy data
Tracking your energy use over time in a visible format will help you to spot anomalies in consumption. These anomalies should be your first go-to target for saving energy, because they are likely signs that energy is being consumed wastefully or equipment is being left on accidentally.
The example below is a comparison of two months’ worth of half-hourly energy data at a business using a relatively straightforward contour chart on Excel. This is a quick and easy way to spot anomalies and identify energy being used outside of normal patterns or hours.
You can see very clearly that a lot more energy is being used in the second month. Does this reflect increased business activity, or is there another reason for this change?
There has also been a jump in consumption in the evenings. Why is this? Perhaps processes or shifts have changed and it has resulted in equipment being left on at the end of the day.
Identifying your baseload
You should also use your energy data to identify your baseload. Also known as phantom load, this is the level of energy consumption that is always running continually in the background.
Your baseload is important to look at because it will include machinery or equipment that may be left on standby and therefore constantly consuming energy every day unnecessarily. Your baseload can build up to quite considerable amounts of money over a year, especially now, so try to identify every item that contributes to it and see what can be managed better.
Once you have a process in place for collecting and visualising your data, the next step is to walk around your site at different times of the day (including during breaks and after closing), using your data as a guide.
As you survey your site, keep an eye out for when and where people may be adjusting temperatures for heating, or times when different equipment or machinery are being used. Take a note of every item that is being left on unnecessarily.
The ‘people element’ of how energy is used is something that many businesses underestimate. The only way you can achieve lasting, embedded energy savings that continue to pay back indefinitely is by bringing everyone along with you on the journey.
Encouraging and incentivising staff to adopt more energy efficient behaviours will also generate energy savings faster than any other method and often at no upfront cost – making an instant impact on your bottom line.
Making sure equipment is being used as efficiently as possible by staff will also help to extend the life of your equipment, saving you more money in the long-run.
Level with people
It’s worth levelling with your staff right now how big a challenge energy costs are going to be over the next year. It may well be that you need to use some relatively strong tactics to make sure everyone understands the risks if they don’t play their part.
Another useful way to look at behaviour change is that any knowledge and training on energy efficiency you can pass onto your staff is something they can also use at home to reduce their own energy bills as well.
Create a team of ‘energy champions’
Bring together a team of likeminded people who have a good understanding of what’s required to save energy throughout your business. The team should meet regularly to discuss opportunities and assign responsibilities for taking action. Make sure the group is representative of every level of your organisation, from upper management to those at the coalface.
The team should be responsible for engaging with everyone in your organisation to gather their energy saving ideas. It’s the people on the frontline who are most likely to have noticed wasteful processes you may not be aware of.
Offer incentives
If you’re struggling to get people to come along with you as a matter of urgency, there are various ways of offering incentives.
Here are just a few ideas:
As you can’t physically ‘see’ energy, it’s absolutely vital that you have processes in place for regular feedback so everyone can see the results of the changes they’re making:
Remember: the Energy Bill Relief Scheme provides a temporary grace period only. It’s important to tackle your energy use now rather than burying your head in the sand and thinking energy prices drop back down to what they used to be – they won’t.
Investing in net zero and energy efficiency can reduce energy bills for businesses by up to 30% and could provide a lifeline for many during this energy crisis, especially with the UK Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme for businesses ending in March 2023.
Explore our other How to Save Energy guides over on our insights page
Watch GC Business Growth Hub's webinars on Understanding the Energy Challenge and What your business can do to reduce energy costs
SMEs in Greater Manchester can access fully funded support on energy efficiency from GC Business Growth Hub's expert Sustainability and Net Zero team
Energy efficiency is also a key element of our popular Journey to Net Zero programme for Greater Manchester SMEs. Visit businessgrowthhub.com/netzero
If you are planning to install green or energy saving technologies, Bee Net Zero partner Green Economy service will help you to find a reputable local supplier
Bee Net Zero offers free, impartial advice to businesses in Greater Manchester at all stages of the net zero journey, from those just starting out to those with a clear plan. The partnership can support with setting net zero targets, employee engagement, energy efficiency, the switch to EVs and more.
To find out more about how the Bee Net Zero partnership can help you lower energy costs and your carbon footprint in this challenging economic period, contact our team.