The energy market has fluctuated wildly throughout the last couple of years, and rates have risen to unsustainable levels for many small and medium-sized businesses.
We explore ways to reduce your business energy consumption to reduce your bills and combat soaring prices.
Ways to reduce your business’s energy consumption
Here are a few tips to combat rising energy prices.
Conduct an energy audit
Before making any changes to your energy consumption, you need to understand where you’re using energy and where you can improve.
An energy audit can help identify areas where energy is wasted and provide recommendations for reducing energy usage. The audit will examine your lighting, heating, cooling, and other energy-consuming devices.
An energy audit can be done in a few different ways:
- An on-site audit. You will have an expert consultant come to your site and review your current setup. They will examine lighting, heating, air conditioning and other systems on your premises that consume lots of energy. Then make recommendations on what needs to be improved.
- Phone-based audit. An experienced energy auditor will call you and ask you various questions regarding your current energy usage. They will build a custom plan for you to follow using this information. The plan will include criteria for energy-saving ideas and the cost they entail.
- Internal audit. A great cost-saving option. It’s not as thorough as the other two options but will help you identify any big inefficiencies. You will be provided with a list and will work through each step. It will help you identify obvious energy consumption inefficiencies. You will need to note down all inefficiencies and then prioritise which ones can be easily improved.
Invest in energy-efficient equipment
Consider replacing old, inefficient equipment with new, energy-efficient models. Energy-efficient equipment helps you reduce energy consumption and save you money in the long run by lowering energy bills.
Use energy-efficient lighting
Switching to energy-efficient lighting is an easy way to save energy. Replace traditional light bulbs with LED bulbs, which use up to 80% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional bulbs.
Installing occupancy sensors and timers can also help reduce energy usage by automatically turning off lights in unoccupied areas.
Implement energy management systems
An energy management system can help you monitor and manage your energy usage. These systems can help identify areas where energy is wasted and recommend reducing energy consumption.
They can also help you track energy usage and identify trends or spikes in energy usage.
Employee education
Encourage your employees to be mindful of their energy usage. Simple actions like turning off lights when leaving a room, and powering down computers, printers and other equipment when not in use.
Consider implementing an energy conservation programme to educate employees on energy-saving techniques and motivate them to conserve energy.
Compare business energy prices
One way to reduce your current spending on energy bills is to compare business energy prices and see if you can save on your current rates. You can fix your current rates 12 months in advance, giving you certainty over your future energy bills.
In business utilities, it’s necessary to enter separate contracts for gas and electricity supplies. Compare business gas prices or compare business electricity prices with our easy-to-use comparison tools
