Low tech changes

here are a number of relatively cheap and simple gadgets that can be introduced. They require relatively low tech changes to your business and include:

• Install an energy monitor so that you actually know what energy you’re using. Educate your staff on what is being consumed and what they can do to help.
• Automatic radiator bleeders that prevent you heating trapped air that is stuck in the radiator rather than water as intended.
• Radiator foil placed behind radiators will radiate heat back into rooms rather than being lost into walls.
• Fit self-adhesive thermal strips around doors and windows to reduce draughts. Draughts can account for up to 10% of heat loss, so this could make good sense.
• Install sensors to turn lights on and off in places where people spend less time. For example, corridors and toilets only need to be lit when in use. This can cut lighting costs by between 30% and 50% according to Government figures on the GOV.UK website.
• Switch to more energy efficient inkjet printers that use 90% less energy than laser printers.

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Also, it can help to encourage staff to change their habits, so consider the following to cut your business energy use and help save money:

• Encourage employees to turn off lights in rooms when they’re not in use, including toilets, store cupboards and meeting rooms. And encourage employees to switch off their computer monitors when they go for breaks, and at the end of their working day.
• Have one member of staff work as an ‘energy monitor’ with access to the thermostat. This could help discourage employees from constantly adjusting the thermostat.
• Encourage staff to print on both sides of paper sheets. This should save energy and cut stationary costs.
• During the current Covid-19 pandemic, many offices will be shut down. If your office is still open but being run by a skeleton staff, remember to make sure all lights and computer monitors on unused floors and work stations are turned off, and thermostats are turned down in rooms that aren’t being used.

Significant changes

Some changes are significant and are not really gadget related as such. These are rather changes to the way in which the overall company operates.

• External hosting. With Cloud based technologies it’s increasingly possible to have external companies host your systems so that you log in to them remotely. This ‘sharing’ of a remote resource allows you not only to spend less money upfront on systems but also to reduce the power usage required to run them.
• Outsourced services. As well as hosting systems with another company, larger companies in particular are increasingly looking for other providers to provide services. These usually include support functions including IT, finance and other operational areas. Such a move reduces a company’s headcount and therefore its energy consumption.

All devices and changes come at a cost. Some might be only a few pounds where others could involve changes running into the millions for a large business. It’s important to do a proper cost benefit analysis whenever you’re investing money in order to save in the future.

It could also be worth running an audit on your company’s energy usage, to find out when and how energy is being used, and to work out where it’s being wasted. Once you’ve identified where energy is being wasted, you can put systems in place to make your business more energy efficient and save money.

For other tips on how to save your company money on its energy costs click here. You can also try to reduce costs by switching your energy supplier – why not start a quote today to see if you can save?

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