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Four ways to cut energy costs and grow your business

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Following a survey of over 1,000 energy decision-makers around the world, new research by Centrica Business Solutions has found that, more and more, organisations are starting to take control of their energy. Data shows that:

  • 1 in 3 businesses are exploring how energy can contribute to growth, greater efficiencies and reduced business risk.
  • Organisations with a well documented energy strategy are 2.5x more likely to be efficient, well run and financially robust.
  • 40 per cent of companies have significantly reduced energy costs after investing in advanced energy solutions.

In response to this information, Centrica has highlighted four proven opportunities that can be woven into business strategy in an effort to transform energy performance:

  1. Energy Insight – using energy data to create deeper insights and improve operational efficiency. By monitoring equipment with low-cost, wireless sensors, customers can quickly gain deep and insightful energy analytics, enabling them to pinpoint where energy waste is occurring and spots potential equipment failures before they happen.
  2. Energy Efficiency – reduce energy costs with innovative technology and solutions. An example of this is: replacing traditional light fittings with LED lighting, which is 90 per cent more efficient!
  3. Reduce your reliance on the grid with Combined Heat and Power (CHP). Using CHP on-site generation can reduce energy costs by up to 40 per cent, and unlock greater sustainability benefits by using renewable methane rich bio-gas to fuel the CHP process. By providing a stable, secure energy supply your site resilience is enhanced, protecting you from energy supply disruption.
  4. Improve sustainability with Solar and strengthen your brand reputation. Solar energy is one of the most cost effective methods of improving both financial and environmental performance.

Lastly, here’s a nifty little stat to cajole you onto the road of energy transformation: if you cut your energy costs by 20 per cent, you can gain the same bottom-line benefit as a 5 per cent rise in sales.

To find out more about how to implement any of the above energy opportunities, read: “Rethinking energy for better business performance” on Centricabusinesssolutions.com.

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

Why desktop computers are costing businesses money – when not in use!

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Here’s a news flash: the desktop computers that monopolise the office space that many of us call ‘work’ waste a surprising amount of energy when not in use! The problem has been dubbed ‘miscellaneous electrical load, ’ or MEL – referring to all the power use from miscellaneous electronics and other objects that are not major appliances, lighting, or heating and cooling.

Many of these additional devices spend a lot of time in standby mode; others are wirelessly communicating all the time. They use a constant stream of power.

Experts reckon that the problem is not any one device but rather, all of them in combination. Alan Meier, an expert on energy technologies at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, believes that because we’ve got more and more consumer electronic devices, and they are performing more and more wireless communications that require them to be, in some sense, always ‘on’ – as reported by the Washington Post.

“A lot more devices have network connections, so that they’re constantly talking to the Internet in one way or another,” says Meier. And this has a substantial energy footprint.
Now, think, for a second, how many MEL devices run in your office – costing money and affecting the environment as you sleep. Desktop computers are particularly prevalent in offices and commercial settings. In a recent study conducted by the California Plug Load Research Center at the University of California, 125 office desktop computers were monitored and of these machines, 61 per cent were shown to spend most of their time ‘on but user-inactive.’

Another thought is that desktops come with monitors, which adds even more to the consumption of energy.

The solution?

Well, the US state of California has just released a set of draft standards that, if adopted, would increase the energy efficiency of computers and accompanying monitors. A policy oriented solution that would change how manufacturers design many of today’s consumer electronics might just be what it takes, and could have a ripple effect worldwide, but Clemson University’s Joseph Burgett, in Energy Research and Social Science, proposes something less prescriptive; a switch that can wirelessly turn off everything in a home or office. This would require the right set up.

OR…just turn electronics off at the plug. Responsible energy management can save business money and reduce their environmental footprint. Certainly food for thought, if nothing else.

To find out more about MEL and possible solutions, read: “Your desktop computer is wasting a surprising amount of energy while you’re not using it” and “Your home is full of devices that never turn off. And they’re costing you a lot of money.”

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

Could businesses claim VAT reductions on energy efficient materials?

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The election is a stone’s throw away and energy issues are hotting up as politicians look to secure votes. Big news of the moment is a statement released by the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), which is calling on all political parties to set VAT at 5 per cent for all energy efficiency materials and the installation thereof.

Mike Foster, Chief Executive of EUA, argues:

“Successive Governments promote energy efficiency measures, encouraging homeowners to install everything from insulation, new boilers to state-of-the-art controls yet there are huge anomalies in the levels of VAT charged.

Installing a new control, as a one-off job, would attract VAT at the lower rate of 5 per cent, making it attractive to the consumer yet installing the same control, as part of a wider system improvement, would attract VAT at the standard, 20 per cent rate. The current system is inconsistent and sends out mixed messages to consumers and it needs clarification.

Green Deal, ECO and other energy efficiency policies have failed to deliver, simplifying the VAT rules around products and their installation is something that could be done reasonably easily, it would provide real help to hard-pressed consumers.”

Foster’s point clearly targets home owners but what about businesses that have turned their companies into ethical and sustainable entities, costing both time, effort and an initial pay-out? If home owners were to receive a VAT reduction incentive should business owners not be afforded the same privilege?

Company VAT is normally chargeable at 20 per cent but your business may be liable for less if it satisfies certain criteria, namely de minimis (low energy consumption), which is applied to businesses with electricity demands below 33kWh per day or 1,000 kWh per month (on average) or gas consumption below an average of 145kWh (5 therms) per day or 4,397 kWh (150 therms) per month – these businesses will qualify for a reduced VAT rate of 5 per cent. (The assessment of your consumption can be made by you or by your supplier, as a meter reading or as an estimate.)

The next question to consider if businesses were to be made eligible for some sort of VAT reduction is what type of energy efficiencies could be implemented (with the added intention of reducing costs in the long term)? Things like state-of-the-art controls (for heating and hot water), new boilers and insulation (around windows, doors, walls, floors, ceilings lofts) have been mentioned but other ideas that will be relevant to your business in context are:

• Wood-fuelled boilers
• Micro combined heat and power units
• Solar panels
• Ground-source heat pumps
• Air-source heat pumps
• Wind turbines
• Water turbines

Again, businesses have not been mentioned in EUA’s reduced VAT proposal but it’s a space worth watching! And in the meantime, for more information on how to up your business’s energy efficiency (products and installation) feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Sources: uea.org.uk – “Reduce VAT to 5% on all energy efficient materials and their installation” and simplybusinessenergy.co.uk – “Electricity and Gas Bills – Understanding VAT”.