A common area where we can help businesses like yours to save money is in energy. Electricity and gas can be a huge expense for many businesses and even for small businesses, changes in how you use and pay for energy can reap some nice savings. But saving on business energy costs when your business’s core function is demanding your focus can be easier said than done.
Here are our steps for helping you reduce the energy you use and the money you spend on it
Business energy saving tips
Step 1 – Check you’re on a reasonably-priced business energy tariff.
With energy prices due to increase again this winter, it’s a good time to think about checking you’re on the best business energy deal you can get.
For businesses, shopping around for the best business energy deal is not as simple as checking out a price comparison website. These are great for consumer energy tariffs, but not at all suitable for business. You need to call up and speak to each potential energy supplier individually and discuss your business’s unique requirements.
The advantage here is that it’s easier to haggle and try and get an even better deal. The downside is this takes up valuable time.
Often, you will be locked into a fixed-term deal with your current supplier, and you’re only allowed to start shopping round within a certain time frame, usually between one and six months before your current deal ends. If you don’t shop around, you may automatically have your contract renewed and you’re stuck with your existing supplier for another year, so be quick!
Some great advice at Money Saving Expert on Cutting Small Business Energy Costs
And while you’re on the phone with your current or potential new supplier, check if you get a discount for paying by direct debit or by paying early. Might as well save a few quid there too if you can!
Switching energy suppliers can reap huge financial savings but does take some effort on your part.
To reduce your effort, you can contact an energy broker or a cost reduction consultant
Step 2 – use energy-saving technical fixes to reduce your business energy costs
It’s possible to save oodles of energy by being more selective about the tech in your business – even changing a few lightbulbs to energy-saving ones is worth the effort.
When upgrading or replacing electrical equipment, look for those which use less energy. Domestic appliances, some business equipment, and even cars now have to have EU Energy Labels, which give an energy-efficiency rating from D up to A+++. These labels tell you power consumption levels (for electric appliances and lightbulbs) and emissions (in the case of cars).
To learn more about the EU Energy Labels at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_energy_label
More energy-efficient equipment will reduce your business’s energy consumption and reduce your costs. For a business that uses a lot of equipment, replacing with energy-efficient equipment can have a huge impact.
This shopping centre in Belfast cut its energy bills by a third by replacing their old lighting system with more energy-efficient LEDs. The payback period is estimated to be 18 months, and they’ve had great feedback about how much better the lights make the centre, with a noticeable impact on safety. Read http://www.irishnews.com/business/2017/08/26/news/west-belfast-shopping-centre-cuts-electricity-costs-by-a-third-1120839/ for more information about how they achieved this welcome cost saving.
Have you thought about producing your own energy? If you have a business that operates mainly during the day, installing solar panels can reduce your need to pay for energy from the National Grid and reduce your company’s impact on the environment. You may even be eligible for a grant to get solar panels installed. Check out http://www.evoenergy.co.uk/services/solar-panels-business/
Step 3 – Educate your employees
Getting your employees on board is key in any cost-reduction activity, and energy-saving is no different. Technical fixes and reduced prices will only go so far; education and awareness will help reduce your energy consumption much further.
A company-wide energy saving programme will show your employees that you are serious about your impact on the environment. You can then introduce small ways in which your employees can help save energy and money, including encouraging employees to be sensible with heating and lighting by switching things off when they are not needed, or by opening windows instead of relying on the air conditioning too much.
Depending on what your business does, there are probably a dozen more ways you can think of that will reduce energy use in your company. As long as the energy-saving measures don’t have a detrimental impact on health and safety and employee productivity, it’s worth thinking about how you can enlist the help of your employees to implement these savings on a daily basis.
You can nominate one of your staff as ‘Energy Champion’ and give them the responsibility of not only creating energy-saving schemes but also by encouraging good practice among colleagues.
A very good article about how to implement energy-saving measures in your business is https://www.businessjuice.co.uk/energy-guides/energy-efficiency/ – have a read and see if any of these measures could reduce energy use and costs in your business.
Want to discuss how Marpat Cost Reduction Consultants can help you find a better energy deal?
Get in touch on 0113 316 7777 or email martin@marpat.co.uk
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