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What if Wimbledon could power your computer?

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Federer did it again. Of course he did; the man’s a machine! With eight Wimbledon championships under his belt Roger Federer has broken the record for most championship wins.

It’d be interesting to know exactly how much energy the tennis star has had to produce over the years as he’s wacked his way into the annals of sporting fame. In fact, Britishgas.co.uk has investigated this very idea. OK, not relating to Federer per se; more about the amount of energy generated at Wimbledon from crowds cheering in the stands to tennis pros burning mega calories as they play.

Apparently, men’s finalists burn an average of 2100 calories per championship match; an energy output of over 2.50kWh! A woman’s final produces more than 150kWh. How does this translate practically (hypothetically)?

Well – on average, your laptop computer uses between 50W – 100W when in use, which means that the power of seven men’s finals would generate enough energy to power your laptop for a year! Five men’s finals could keep an LED lightbulb (typically lasting between 20,000 to 50,000 hours) shining for more than two years!

One woman’s final could keep your iPad charged for a year.

Impressed? Just wait. The London marathon – you know it, right? Before the race (which took place on April 23), a total of 253,930 people were expected to participate. With this statistic in mind; if a single participant competing in the marathon uses an equivalent 3.045 kWh of energy, then the total amount of energy consumed by the entire marathon is a mammoth 752.3 mWh.

Imagine your business could employ its own personal Roger Federer or better yet; a team of pro runners, to create enough energy to power the workstations on your premises? Sustainable and cost-effective, surely? Nice to dream. But who knows – we live in a world where anything and everything is possible!

If you have any energy queries relating to your home or business, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Sources: Britishgas.co.uk – “Wimbledon: How much energy can tennis pros generate?” and “The power produced by runners competing in the London Marathon”

Keep the air cool and cost-effective in your business this summer

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One might assume that because winter’s over and the heating is finally off, that energy costs will take a dip but this is not necessarily the case! There’s nothing more uncomfortable than working in a scorching hot office, which is why businesses tend to crank the air conditioning with little hesitation – and cold air costs! But there are ways to help your business save money this summer:

  • Service and repair (if necessary) your current air conditioning system, to keep it running smoothly and efficiently; preventing inconvenient costs from cropping up throughout the summer months.
  • Keep the cool air in by insulating your business premises, and if using air conditioning remember to keep windows and doors shut to keep the cool air from flowing out.
  • According to the Energy Department, you can save as much as 10 per cent a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 3°-4°C for 8 hours a day from its normal setting.
  • The days are longer, which presents the perfect opportunity for businesses to take advantage of natural lighting. Fluorescent bulbs use around 75 per cent less energy than the standard light bulbs but apart from that, why not figure out where the sun will be and when, and rearrange the layout of your business space accordingly? Move desks around so that they are not in direct line with the main window when the sun is beaming in throughout the afternoon. This way you can keep your blinds open and your lights off.
  • Using a fan can help increase the efficiency of an air conditioning system.
  • If you’re not using an air conditioner, open windows and doors to ventilate the office and relax business dress to keep staff cool and happy at work.
  • Turn off anything that creates heat when not in use, such as printers and monitors.

For more excellent tips on how to cut down on energy costs this summer, read “Summer energy tips: How to cut down on costs” on Britishgas.co.uk.

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

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.”

New tool set to help businesses reduce energy costs

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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”

How Brexit will impact energy policy and what this means for business owners

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Brexit is happening and history is in the making but what does this mean for UK energy policy and the multitude of UK businesses that are affected by the potential impact of bills and tariffs?

The internet is awash with opinion but according to Nick Butler, visiting Professor and Chair of the Kings Policy Institute at Kings College London, writing for the Financial Times: “The UK’s exit from the EU should have very little impact on the energy business. The price of oil, gas and coal is set by international markets not by the institutions in Brussels.”

Butler goes on to say that the energy union proposed by the EU is much more focused on developing common infrastructure and in ensuring that there is an open market across Europe. Presumably we’ll no longer be a part of this but “there is no reason to think that the interconnection and trading links which already exist on straightforward commercial terms will not continue regardless of a UK exit from the European institutions,” says Butler.

It is, however, likely that the impact of Brexit will be felt less in terms of British interaction with Europe than within the UK itself but nothing is certain until the shape of the new government takes form. Which is all good and well but what business owners really want to know is will they have to pay more? Will the weakening sterling send energy prices into a tailspin?

Butler summarises:

“Brexit is unlikely to change much, if anything, in our energy relationships with our neighbours. Trade will go on. Oil and gas will still continue to be priced according to market circumstances at the global level. But within the UK’s own energy mix new ministers could radically alter the detailed balance. For investors this is another level of uncertainty to be added to all the risks around economic growth and the value of the currency. They will get no clear answers until a new government is formed in October.”

So ‘no’ (energy tariffs shouldn’t be subject to any sort of dramatic increase)…but this is dependent on new leadership and direction from government. It’s a waiting game, in other words.

Damian Kahya, writing for Greenpeace’s Energy Desk, has another opinion; arguing that Brexit could add billions to the cost of fuel in the UK, according to an analysis of government import data.

Kayha says that the data for 2015 suggests that a fall in the value of the pound could add up to £4 billion to the cost of oil, gas, coal and electricity imports, driving up costs for consumers and businesses.

If Brexit manages to wipe 20 per cent off the value of the sterling, as has been predicted, households and businesses, which spend nearly £21 billion a year on imported energy (as per coal, oil and gas UK trade data for 2015), could accrue and extra £4 billion in costs – the additional amount (20 per cent) needed to make up for the devalued sterling.

What this means, in practical terms is that: “Assuming that fed through the households and business – in the form of higher energy bills, fuel costs and more expensive goods and services – it would add up to £150 to their annual spending.”

Uncertainty is a frustrating thing but it’s good to be aware and consider all points of view – whilst getting on and doing business as usual. It’s also worth noting that both of the perspectives in this post are subject to various provisos and variables so it’d be worth checking out the original articles (see below sources).

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

Sources: Blogs.ft.com – “Brexit: the impact on UK energy policy and Energydesk.greenpeace.org – “How Brexit could drive up UK energy bills.

Top energy-saving resolutions for the New Year

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The start of a new year is always a great time to rethink strategy and implement new business ideas. People are more receptive when the year changes, which is a huge opportunity for transitioning a company ethos.

OK, so you’ve got your pen and paper out and are ready to start your New Year’s resolution list – change the menu in the canteen, spend less money, order new stationary, have the walls re-painted, jack up your online presence, hire an admin assistant…sure, all great ideas. How about one more? Energy saving!? It’s a ‘two birds with one stone’ kind of resolution –saving your business money and making the world a healthier place. It’s a no-brainer, really.

You agree? Great. Here are some tips to get your office operating as efficiently as possible in the new year (thanks to the experts from Providerpower.com and Wegowise.com):

  • Get a professional business energy audit – the logical, first step to energy saving. A professional will come to your business and assess your place of work from top-to-bottom, pinpointing where energy is escaping and offering suggestions on which upgrades you should consider for the most benefit – things like energy efficient lighting, weather proofing or a programmable thermostat. Just an fyi: Around 25 per cent of a building’s energy usage can be chalked up to inefficient appliances and lighting.
  • Make one energy-efficiency investment a month. Even though energy-efficient upgrades pay for themselves over time, there is typically an upfront cost. That’s why you might want to consider spreading out your investments.
  • Start small – power strips are a good place to kick off your energy-saving resolution. They’re inexpensive and will pay for themselves in no time. ‘Phantom’ or ‘vampire’ energy usage (the process by which plugged-in electronics or appliances still use small amounts of electricity even though turned off) is easy to curb. All your peripheral, energy-sucking devices like televisions, computers, printers, lamps, toasters, coffee makers, and cell phone charges can be plugged into a power strip and controlled by one switch. The energy savings per day may be minimal, but over time it will add up!
  • Use less. This philosophy is so simple, yet so constructive. ‘Using less’ encompasses using less electricity by turning off the lights when you leave a room or turning appliances of at the plug when closing the office at the end of the day.
  • Champion energy savings among your employees. It’s vital to get the whole business on board. Make sure they know they are a crucial part of the success of this endeavour and show them how their changes – big and small – make a difference.
  • Benchmark your overall energy usage. Staring down 12 months of utility bills can be daunting, but peer-to-peer benchmarking is a key step toward seeing how your current energy usage stacks up, prioritising your retrofit projects, and ultimately making a dent in utility payments.
  • Set an energy-saving goal that will both challenge you, and serve as an attainable milestone to reach by year-end. Aim to reduce energy use by 5 per cent or cut your electricity use by 10 per cent. Whatever the goal; set it, and work towards it.

Reducing your business’s carbon footprint is a worthwhile, feel-good initiative! If you’d like further information, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Sources: Providerpower.com – “Energy-Efficient Resolutions for the New Year and Wegowise.com – “Energy-Efficient New Year’s Resolutions”

How a sustainable water strategy will save your business money

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The conservation of energy has been a hot topic for the last few years. The effects of global warming have forced the world to take note and take action; governments, businesses and home owners have been (correctly) burdened with the social responsibility to do what they can to reduce their carbon footprint.

Energy – gas and electricity – is an obvious expense on a balance sheet and so most businesses are naturally inclined to focus a great deal of effort on finding ways to minimise this expense. As it so happens, decisions made for economic reasons often turn out to be the sustainable route as well, a happy coincidence, but there is a cost that companies often overlook, and that is water.

Water is usually overshadowed by the price of energy but it bears hidden costs that it would benefit businesses to take note of, such as the carbon and monetary costs of supplying that water, heating it and treating it after use. In other words, water is intrinsically linked to energy use and carbon emissions – so why aren’t we trying harder to save it?

Recent estimates suggest that if we continue business as usual, global demand for water will exceed viable resources by 40 per cent by the year 2030. Policymakers are thus under pressure to tighten water regulations amidst growing concern about scarcity and pollution. As an outcome, businesses will be compelled to implement sustainable water strategies. This means recycling more water and looking at new ways in which to develop goods and services with a much smaller water footprint. And for smaller companies, awareness is a good starting point.

Martin Stuchtey, director of the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, says that businesses need to shift to a circular economy for water:

“We need a completely new mindset of not contaminating water in the first place. We need to treat it like a durable and keep it in closed loops; or like a consumable, but return it in a way so that it is cheap or beneficial to take into second or third use.”

Companies should start to look beyond their fences; to collaborate with others – experts in the field – and encourage respective suppliers, partners, customers and others to work with them in their effort to implement water-saving plans. Industry sectors also need to join forces to manage water more efficiently, Stutchey argues:

“There might be ways that a handshake between the agriculture and industries might provide the better solution. Industrial grey water, if it’s not too contaminated, could in fact be an interesting input into agriculture. We need to go across sectors and manage water in more effective and circular ways.”

The good news is that an effective water management plan can transform the economic prospects of a business – if ever there was an incentive!

For more information on water sustainability or any plumbing-related issues feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc

Sources: Theguardian.com – “A sustainable water strategy is good for business”; “Six thing business needs to know about water and sustainability” and Mckinsey.com – “Rethinking the water cycle”

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”.

Why Hoval’s biomass boiler might be the thing to keep your business sustainable

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The latest stats by the Office for National statistics suggest that the UK is on track to meet its renewable energy goals. According to expert analyses, wind power substituting for gas and coal use has driven down greenhouse gas emissions, putting the UK halfway to fulfilling its commitment to produce 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, under targets commissioned by the European Union.

But it’s also down to home and businesses owners opting for more sustainable heating options, Hoval’s biomass boiler being but one example. A case in point is a recent installation by Stroud School in Hampshire, which, as part of its drive to improve sustainability and reduce carbon emissions, has installed Hoval biomass boilers to provide space heating and domestic hot water for the main school building and two new buildings. Now, the resolution of a single establishment might seem paltry in the grand scheme of things but is nonetheless a significant contribution in the county’s efforts to ‘go green’. (Many such contributions make a difference.)

The two 160 kW BioLyt biomass boilers supplied by Hoval use wood pellets as an alternative to fossil fuels and are thus particularly suited to the school’s rural location. The BioLyt is however suited to any plant room; even in cramped conditions, the boiler can be easily introduced into building systems, and is suitable for both new build and existing system upgrades with easy access.

Hoval describes its BioLyt biomass boiler as:

  • Very low environmental impact
  • Rapid return on investment
  • An ideal choice when updating your system
  • Easy to use and reliable.

Two 4000 litre buffer vessels were also supplied to Stroud School by Hoval, which boast a maximum working pressure of 3 bar g (with larger vessels available on request).

If you and your business are considering a commercial boiler commission that might involve a sustainable boiler upgrade, feel free to contact the CH Systems team on 0208 302 8149 or info@chsystems.cc.

Sources: Hoval.co.uk/press/ – “Hoval biomass boilers support Stroud School’s sustainability and Theguardian.co.uk – “UK on track to meet its renewable energy targets”

Businesses prioritise energy security when choosing providers, according to new research

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With the cold well underway and heaters assuredly on, there is one thing that is occupying the minds of business owners as tariffs tick over, and that’s energy security. According to new research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), 73 per cent of 550 business leaders and 2,300 households rate security of supply as a crucial energy objective for the UK.

The majority of businesses (96 per cent) are concerned about keeping energy bills affordable and, interestingly, more than half of businesses (57 per cent) believe that the UK’s energy security is worse than it was five years ago. The resounding scepticism of UK business owners is emphasised by the fact that 53 per cent of respondents cite ‘energy company profits’ as the primary reason for price hikes. It’s thus no big surprise that a mere 38 per cent of businesses agree that energy efficiency is the best solution to ensuring that energy costs remain affordable (smaller bonuses, maybe?). Another solution hazarded by business leaders who participated in CBI’s research is; more competition in the market – if energy providers are vying for customers, they’ll have to offer the best deal in an effort to sustain their client base.

Perhaps a lesser known fact is that provider profits accounted for only 4.3 per cent of an average bill in 2012, which suggests that other than the solutions already highlighted by business owners themselves, it seems that industry players might benefit from an action prioritising greater transparency and honest conversation. Being real about energy objectives and how they relate to business is a good way to encourage a mutual support network between companies and energy providers.

And how do business owners feel about the UK’s aim to tackle climate change? In spite of the fact that change in policy and the practical implementation thereof might affect energy security, most businesses (70 per cent) support renewable energy initiatives and other such schemes that hope to minimise the country’s carbon footprint. While 60 per cent of business leaders believe that taking action now to cut carbon emissions will deliver long-term economic opportunity, one in three businesses disagree (32 per cent), suggesting more must be done to communicate the importance of, and opportunity presented by, the low-carbon transition.

The research does a great job of drawing attention to some very real concerns relating to energy efficiency – or lack thereof, according to various respondents. The good news is that there’s a lot to be done and everyone has a part to play.

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: cbi.org.uk – “Short-term thinking on energy risks damaging investment – CBI”