Posts

Why businesses should consider the WHOLE life costing of a boiler

It’s important, when looking at the cost of a new boiler, to consider the ‘whole life cost’ of the product rather than just the initial purchase price. When working to a budget it’s easy to be distracted by the capital cost of a new boiler and how it will affect finances short term, forgetting the operational costs that are equally important to bottom line business profits.

In order to reduce overall expenditure, ‘whole life costing’ must be contemplated as part of a budget. The expected life of a boiler would likely include: a review of anticipated energy usage, installation costs, maintenance and servicing costs – in addition to the initial cost of the item. This will offer a more realistic cost analysis of the overall operation, maintenance and repair of the boiler.

The type of boiler purchased for your business can make a massive difference to overall expenditure; deciding to invest in one particular product over another could result in a massive saving over time. For example:

  • Condensing boilers can achieve over 90 per cent thermal efficiency compared with 70 to 80 per cent with non-condensing models. Replacing a non-condensing boiler and updating controls can save up to 25% per cent of energy costs, depending on consumption.
  • A boiler’s modulation range (the difference between its maximum and minimum output, normally expressed as a ratio can have an effect on overall energy use (and cost): a wide modulation ratio is particularly useful for premises with varying demands, as the boiler can modulate its output accordingly.
  • If a boiler is not properly maintained, it will have a shorter life span and heating costs can increase by up to 30 per cent.

In a nutshell, looking beyond the gas boiler to the whole system and building could result in even more efficiency gains and reductions in energy use.

For all your energy related questions, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Sources: Professional Heating & Plumbing Installer, Hamworthy Heating

Business leaders share tips on how to minimise energy use

New smart meter data has revealed that small businesses use 46 per cent of their total electricity between 6pm and 8am – when no one is at work (usually). The experts from Britishgas.co.uk reckon that a few simple changes could cut office energy bills by up to 20 per cent!

In an effort to help companies save costs on energy, business leaders taking part in The Business Show, the UK’s largest business exhibition, discussed the importance of saving energy as well as what they do to cut down on their energy use at work, and here’s what they came up with:

“We had a survey done of hoe energy efficient we are and, off the back of that, we changed a number of things; we changed the way our light switches work so if you leave the room they’ll turn off automatically.” – Steven Bartlett (social media agency Social Chain).

“I think energy efficiency is vital. Not only does it save you money but, in this world that we live in, we have to preserve energy.” – Touker Suleyman (Dragon’s Den).

“It’s never been an easier time, with the internet and mobile apps, that you can monitor [energy use] in real time.” – Jonathan Dowden (Sage One)

“I think that there are huge savings that you can make in smart metering. You can actually take really big steps to cut your bills.” – Bill Morrow (founder and CEO of Angels Den investment platform).

“Even if it’s just a start and you roll things out in a sequence…make sure everything is on standby or switched off.” – Annie Hunter (Consultant, How2)

“If you can be energy efficient and reduce your energy costs then, absolutely, every penny counts in a small business, in a growing business; therefore [energy saving] is vitally important.” – Brett Akker (Founder, Lovespace).

If you’d like further information on how your business can cut down on energy costs, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Source: Britishgas.co.uk – “Business leaders discuss how they cut down on energy bills.”

New tool set to help businesses reduce energy costs

Panoramic Power is a new energy measurement management tool launched by British Gas in an effort to help businesses reduce costs. It aims to help strategically align people, processes, and technology with financial, operational and environmental objectives.

The tool combines cloud-based analytics with real time measurement of individual electronic devices and machinery to bring transparency and visibility to energy use. The resulting data produces actionable insights that will in turn improve operational excellence and business performance.

By helping customers understand and take control of their energy, businesses will in turn save money and drive operational performance. The initiative claims to deliver an ROI for customers with an enterprise solution that is affordable, flexible and scalable enough to deliver a comprehensive set of energy management and operational services which also support corporate social responsibility and sustainability programs.

According to a report by Energy Live News Gab Barbaro, MD of Big Six supplier Centrica’s UK Business division, says of the initiative:

“Between them, British businesses are currently spending around £20 billion a year on energy. I believe that in future we could help them bring that down by 10 to 20 per cent through distributed energy solutions.

“With Panoramic Power we’re offering energy intensive users real insights to help them bring down their energy usage. More fundamentally though, we can use it to help businesses make decisions about where distributed energy technologies can be of most use to them and to their bottom line.”

To date, Panoramic Power has rolled out 35,000 sensors in 30 countries, bringing energy insights to customers across 1,000 sites.

If you’d like further information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Source: Energylivenews.com – “New British Gas tool to help businesses cut energy costs”

What business owners need to know about UK energy policy in the upcoming General Election

The election is drawing near and things are hotting up in the decision making department as business owners scrutinise party policies in an effort to cast a vote that will yield entrepreneurial advantage. Understanding what the General Election means for UK energy policy is of particular significance as it will have a long term impact on business overheads but with politicians not exactly known for their candour, negotiating the vague strategy of party politics can be frustrating if nothing else.

In an effort to help business owners better understand party manifestos and what they will mean for energy using companies, the Association for Decentralised Energy has offered a review of the most prominent party policies. The bad news is that Despite loud concerns over the past two years from businesses on their growing energy costs, there is nothing from any of the parties’ manifestos that shows the importance of improving industrial and business energy productivity or managing their costs is on their radar, which the Association for Decentralised Energy is calling a “missed opportunity for all the major parties.” That said; there are yet some points that might affect the voting choice of UK entrepreneurs:

  • Both Labour and the Liberal Democrat manifestos commit to energy efficiency as an infrastructure priority although there remains limited detail on the proposal.
  • The Conservative manifesto focuses on the cost of energy but the party’spromise to remove relatively low-cost onshore wind subsidies risks undermining this claim.
  • The Liberal Democrat manifesto reflects their experience gained in government and their aim to own the green energy file in comparison to the other main parties. As well as a poignant focus on energy, it is also the only manifesto to properly consider heat.
  • The Scottish National Party (SNP), although understandably focused on Scotland, has a very strong focus on encouraging renewable electricity investment, due to the Scottish wind and tidal resource.

It’s definitely worth doing further research into any of the aforementioned points if they have the potential to sway your vote.

And if you’re a small business owner, listen up! Of particular interest in the upcoming General Election is the ballot to be cast by Britain’s small business community, which has grown by two million firms since the last election in 2010. According to the StartUp Britain tracker, for the last three years record numbers of people have been setting up in business. In just two years, more than a million new companies have been registered with Companies House, and one in 10 domestic properties in the UK is now home to at least one business – as reported by ibtimes.co.uk.

The ultimate point is this: no matter how small or big your company, energy is an issue and it is important to consider what the people who plan to run the country might offer your business when it comes to entrepreneurial advancement – not only in relation to the overall goal of cutting costs but in terms of energy efficiency and ethical policy as well.

If you’d like further information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Sources: Theade.co.uk – “Better Energy Blog | What the General Election Means for UK Energy Policy” and Ibtimes.co.uk – “Election 2015: Cameron and Miliband can gain huge advantage by winning small business favour”