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Business leaders share tips on how to minimise energy use

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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.”

Could the return of the incandescent light bulb save your business money?

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Thomas Edison created the incandescent light bulb more than 130 years ago…and it was awesome. But Edison’s traditional filament bulb lost street cred in modern times and was overtaken by the more efficient LED and the more eco-friendly fluorescent bulb. Things, however, could be about to change!

Scientists at MIT reckon that they’ve found a way to make the incandescent light bulb more energy efficient. Now, you might be wondering what the big deal is because with LED or fluorescent bulbs an online purchase away, why would any business pay attention to the resurrection of the filament bulb? In a nutshell – the return of the incandescent light bulb save your business money. Here’s how:

The old-style bulb was only considered to be 5 per cent efficient, because it typically lost around 95 per cent of its energy to the air as heat. LED or fluorescent bulbs boosted that efficiency figure to 14 per cent, but the new incandescent bulb marks a potentially huge leap for energy efficiency to 40 per cent. Scientists plan to do this in a two stage process.

The first stage will stop waste heat from the conventionally heated metal filament from dissipating with the inclusion of a secondary structure surrounding the filament, which will capture the excess radiation and reflect it back to the filament to be re-absorbed and re-emitted as visible light.

The second stage will manipulate how efficiently the system converts electricity into light.

Scientists refer to their approach as “light recycling,” since their material takes in the unwanted, useless wavelengths of energy and converts them into the visible light wavelengths that are desired; recycling energy that would otherwise be wasted.

Now check this: The Energy Saving Trust calculates that a 60-watt incandescent light bulb over a year would typically cost £7.64. An equivalent energy efficient fluorescent or light bulb drops the cost to £1.53 per year, and an LED £1.27. The new MIT bulb would be expected to cost just 50p to run for a year (as reported by Bitishgas.co.uk).

In other words, it’s in the best interests of your business for the buffs and MIT to get this incandescent bulb thing right! Little savings add up, especially when there’s lots of light to be used. We’ll keep you posted…

For more on the science and the research of the MIT project, CLICK HERE.

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

Source: Britishgas.co.uk – “The return of the incandescent light bulb”

Do business owners really care about energy efficiency? New survey reveals all

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New research by YouGov has revealed that 62 per cent of workers believe that their employers are invested in energy saving. Commissioned by British Gas, the survey polled 1,118 workers (individuals in businesses rather than decision makers) across the UK in an effort to find out how dedicated company owners and managers are to being energy efficient.

Whilst the results indicate a positive inclination toward the economical use of gas and electricity, it’s worth mentioning that fewer than half (43 per cent) of workers said that their company or organisation ensures that all lights and computer screens are switched off when not in use and fewer than one in five (18 per cent) said they conduct a regular energy audit.

According to Brian Stewart, Head of Customer Strategy and Insight at British Gas Business (the business arm of the energy company), companies are spending more on energy efficiency but that more could be done to save on energy consumption.

The support of employees goes a long way in businesses attempts to save energy, and good news for employers is that 68 per cent of UK workers take extra care to help make their work place more energy efficient, with 22 per cent saying they care a great deal. YouGov’s survey found that hospitality and leisure workers care the most (82 per cent) about saving business energy. Financial services and manufacturing ranked high, with workers affirming a respective 77 and 76 per cent commitment to helping their employers meet energy efficient targets.

Other than the backing of employees and obvious habits like turning off plugs and electronic devices when not in use, another practical way to be more energy efficient is to introduce a paperless policy. Interestingly, 38 per cent of respondents working in the financial services industry indicated that their companies have gone paperless, which is 12 per cent more than the average (26 per cent). It’s a small thing but it can make a huge difference not only to the environment but to business overheads.

For more information on how to make your business’s energy more efficient and more affordable, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Source: Britishgas.co.uk – “More than two thirds of UK workers say they care about energy saving in the workplace”

Track your energy usage with power supply e-tracker – it could save your business money!

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Winter is in full swing and businesses are all about cutting energy costs, especially with recent price hikes in mind. For many businesses energy usage increases significantly during the cold months of December, January and February – to give you an idea of the typical seasonal energy consumption for the retail, manufacturing and office industries during the winter months, check out the following statistics (courtesy of British Gas):

Retail: the average monthly consumption of a hardware goods retailer with average annual dual fuel usage of 210MWh showed:

  • 40% increase in gas usage from autumn to winter.
  • 30% of annual gas consumption and 25% of annual electricity consumption occurs in winter.

Manufacturers: the average monthly consumption from an industrial component manufacturer with average annual dual fuel usage of 165MWh showed:

  • 70% increase in gas usage and 38% increase in electricity usage from autumn to winter.
  • 51% of annual gas consumption and 39% of annual electricity consumption occurs in winter.

Offices: the average monthly consumption of 25 offices with an average annual dual fuel usage of 1.6GWh showed:

  • 63% increase in gas usage from autumn to winter
  • 50% of annual gas

If the aforementioned statistics are a taken as a reliable representation of commercial energy usage across the country, the increases in all industries are significant during winter, which places heightened significance on the accuracy of metre readings.

The press recently reported on a company that saved £65,000 in a week as a result of faulty metre readings; suspecting something amiss, said company installed a Marshall-Tufflex Sinergy e-Tracker sub-metering unit to get an in-depth view of its energy usage over one week. When the stats were examined the company discovered its electricity meters were making incorrect readings. The matter was taken up with the power supplier and a refund of £65,000 issued along with an assurance that future bills would be correct – as reported by HPV Magazine.

The Sinergy e-Tracker might be worth considering if you’re keen to confirm the readings being put out by the metre currently measuring your business’s energy output.

The Marshall-Tufflex Sinergy e-Tracker sub-metering unit is a portable kWh meter allowing users to monitor incoming power supply, specific circuits/equipment etc. to show the pattern of demand over an hour, day, week or month.

The unit utilises non-invasive clip-on transducer (CT) clamps that are quick to install and do not require power being turned off. They are magnetic-backed so attach easily to switch boards making them perfect for temporary monitoring. The e-Tracker measures current from 10Amps to 2500Amps, and offers 16 days of battery life or runs off mains supply. Other features include pulse input, optional voltage connections, CT amps range indicator and EV-Trac electrostatic phase identifier.

To find out about the Sinergy e-Tracker, visit Marshall-tufflex.com.

And For more information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.