After a tough year for businesses in general the last thing you want to be struggling with this Winter is your energy bills. We have put together a list of our top 11 winter energy-saving tips to help your business through the coldest months of the year.
Wholesale energy prices may rise across the market and there is nothing your business can do to prevent that, unfortunately. However, with our business energy saving tips, you could reduce energy usage and therefore energy bills.
What is Insulation?
As the temperature drops your business energy bills are going to feel it if your building is not properly insulated. If you rent your building your landlord should be able to tell you what type of insulation your building has.
Insulation is usually a thick material in floors, walls, or roofs to stop the heat from escaping your building. This means that you will need less heat during the day as it will stay trapped inside. Investing in commercial insulation also gives your building extra protection from the elements as it provides a barrier between your internal space and the external framing of your property.
Warehouses could benefit from insulation in other ways. Not only will it keep the cold out but also create a sound barrier for each separate area to reduce noise pollution.
Therefore, as a start to making sure your building is equipped for winter check whether you need insulation installed to reduce wasted energy.
Why should I have LED Lighting?
Another way to save money on your energy bills this winter is to replace your lights with LED lighting. If your commercial property is still using incandescent lighting, you could be missing out on saving up to 80% on electricity.
Traditional halogen bulbs cost around 5x times more to run than LED lights do. Not only will LED lights save you money on your electricity bills but they also last much longer so will also save on maintenance costs.
Lighting is one electrical expense that always seems to be forgotten about but could be taking up a large proportion of your electricity bills. To reduce how much light is used why not also use motion-sensor lighting? Lights are often left on when not in use. However, with motion sensor lighting they will automatically go off when not in use.
Making use of natural lighting during the day could also save your business money.
Could heat pumps save energy?
Heat pumps are another great way you could save on your energy bills this winter. Using gas-fueled heating and cooling systems can cause huge heating bills for businesses. However, heat pumps could be a much cheaper alternative.
Heat pumps are a great alternative to the traditional gas boilers that you may have in your business. They not only work for warm air for your building but can also be used for hot water.
Heat pumps work by transferring heat from one place to another. So, instead of burning fossil fuel to heat your building, you will only pay for the electricity you use to run the heat pump.
How to reduce electricity usage
To save money on energy bills you ultimately need to reduce energy consumption. Installing a Voltage Optimiser could lead to seeing immediate effects on how much electricity you use.
A Voltage Optimiser reduces the amount of electricity your electrical equipment uses as this is often too high. Most appliances will work efficiently at 220 volts of electricity. However, in the UK, the electricity is supplied up to 253V. This means that your electrical equipment is getting overvolted. This means you are not only paying more for utility bills, but you also must buy new equipment more often due to you overvolting it.
Read more here to find out about Voltage Optimisation. If you think voltage optimisation could be a good choice for your business then request a consultation here.
What is a smart thermostat?
When the colder months hit, we know that keeping your customers and employees warm and comfortable can be important. Leaving the heating on all day seems like your only option but a smart thermostat could help you.
A smart thermostat is a device that you can use to set the times that your heating comes on and set a comfortable temperature for your building. This device could also work around your working times so your gas bills are not going up at night time when the building is vacant.
You can set a temperature for your building to be, and your smart thermostat will acclimatize your workspace to this. You can also control your device from anywhere.
Why you shouldn't leave electric equipment on
One of the biggest wastes of energy in a business is often just carelessness with electrical equipment. Often computers, lights and monitors are left on overnight or when they are not in use. It might not seem like this would cause a lot of energy waste, but this can build up. Switching equipment off when in use could ensure they use up to 75% less electricity. This will have a massive impact on your energy bills.
Encourage employees to be more energy efficient
Introducing new energy infrastructure and energy-efficient techniques is not going to do much if your employees are not fully onboard with changes. Making sure to save energy this winter is a team effort.
Getting people to comply at first could be difficult as they may forget or not care. Here is some way that you can remind your employees of this:
- Send email reminders to employees
- Make sure they know why this is important for the whole business
- Ask for their input on other ways you can increase energy efficiency
- Offer a reward for the most energy-efficient employee or department.
Could your business generate its energy?
Your business could also reduce energy bills by generating your energy. This is more of a long-term plan to reduce your energy bills. However, the sooner you start this the quicker you could be saving money.
Solar panels or Photovoltaics work by converting energy from the sun into power for your building. This allows us to use solar energy from the sun to generate electricity from our homes and buildings.
By using solar panels to generate your business' electricity, you will massively discount the amount you pay for your energy bills. To find out more Solar panels continue reading here. If you would like a solar panel quote for your business please get in touch.
What is an energy audit?
If your business is struggling to save money on your energy bills you could get a professional to conduct an energy audit for you. You could also perform a commercial energy audit yourself.
A commercial energy audit will identify areas where you could become more energy efficient. An auditor will consider all areas of your business and give insights on energy saving strategies that you could implement that would be unique to your business.
This could lead to you being able to reduce your energy usage and therefore your energy bills.
What energy tariff should my business be on this Winter?
With energy support for businesses being available this year, it is important to be on the right energy contract. Last month government support for energy bills began for all non-domestic energy tariffs. This comes under the energy bill relief schemes in which businesses receive a discount on their wholesale gas and electricity prices.
If you're on a deemed rate tariff or your fixed rate tariff is ending, we suggest sticking with a fixed rate tariff for your next contract. This will let you take full advantage of the government's energy price cap. All non-domestic customers on fixed rate tariffs signed after December 2021 are eligible for the cap, which is set at 21.1p/kWh for electricity and 7.5 p/kWh for gas.
If you want to switch to a fixed-rate contract to ensure you are paying the lowest possible prices over the next six months, then get in touch with us today. You can also request a free quote from us here
If you would like more details on the energy price cap then read more here.
What is energy management software?
Energy management software connects and monitors all energy-using devices and can send a warning whenever there is a suspicious change in energy usage.
Having one of these installed could save you up to 10% on your overall energy bills. These systems can notify you when equipment is using too much energy and should be replaced.
If you're looking to save money on your energy bills then why not get in touch today? The relationships Resolve Energy has developed with over 24 of the UK’s biggest business energy suppliers allows our energy experts to source the best business energy rates available for your company right when you need them. Request a free quote today and start saving money on your energy.
