Any business becoming more energy efficient is dependant on many factors;
1. Type of business: a service business based in an office i.e solicitors or e commerce, will require fewer actions to become more energy efficient than a nursery school with a higher need for heat and power, through to a large manufacturing business with an even higher energy consumption.
2. The fabric of the building: An older building will be more porous in the main, therefore a greater heat load requirement will be required, which in turn requires more energy to produce the said required heat load.
3. The monitoring of energy consumption should always be the start point because once you know what you are consuming, you can then look at ways to reduce consumption.
As mentioned above, the physical act of 'turning off' energy consuming assets when not needed is the start. But ensuring that everyone in the business follows the same principles, is a must.
Any business can make savings by installing LED's, draft proofing for older buildings, ensuring the fabric of the building is as airtight as possible, installing PIR sensors linked to the AC/HVAC in rooms and/or areas of infrequent use, reviewing maintenance regimes on equipment; a well maintained energy consumption asset will always perform better and be more energy efficient - reactive maintenance is always more costly!
All business from the small to the large can, invest in, and have installed, technology that can save them money and reduce CO2 emissions. It all depends on what the activity of business is!
There are a number of cost effective and innovative products on the market from additives for wet heating systems that can save up to 15%, nano technologies that coat the exterior walls to enhance airtightness, solar therm kit for hot water, solar thermal kit to reduce energy consumed by AC/HVAC units, additives for chillers that reduce consumption...the list goes on.
There is currently a grant of up to £10,000 backed by the Carbon Trust for LED and Solar PV installation. (Pls note that if you get a Govt grant for any non-domestic renewable technology, you cannot then claim any of the Govt tariffs until the grant is repaid).
We are not involved in this scheme but if anyone is interested I can send you details of a Carbon Trust accredited company that will help you. The scheme is available to small businesses, manufacturing and industrial sectors.
For the larger consumers of energy - heat and power - with annual bills of £15k Gas and £20k electricity there are options to use biomass/CHP or gas/CHP. Although the CAPEX on a biomass/CHP unit is circa £320k for 50kWe - 150kWth the ROI is upto 32%, with a payback term of 3 years, and a Net Cashflow of £2.2+ million after 20 years. It has to noted that the renewables industry firmly believes that the current tariffs will not exist after April 2017. So if you are exploring installing either standard biomass boilers or biomass/CHP in your business premises, contact your supplier and installer and order the kit now! On the other hand if you are exploring the ESCO model ( a fully funded installation with no CAPEX from the end user), then contact them and move the deal forward as there is a longer lead time due to the ECSO contract process.
Larger consumers of energy can also take advantage of Demand Response Services - basically helping the National Grid stay balanced, and preventing power cuts.
There are 27+ various DSRS programs that businesses can enroll in, but it all depends on what energy consuming assets they have, and businesses get paid vast amounts when enrolled which can then used to offset the CAPEX cost of installing renewable technology.
My advice would be to undertake and energy audit to ascertain the current energy consumption position of the business - this will give you base loads/peak loads and an energy profile - then continually monitor energy consumption.
See what 'quick wins' the business can achieve, and implement them.
Look at the the longer term investments into renewable technology, but base the calculations on projected savings to be achieved without incorporating the current Gov renewable tariffs, as they more than likely will not be available after April 2017 as mentioned.
Finally, the most effective manner in which to start to become energy efficient is to ensure everyone in the business, from the owner to the tea maker, takes proactive steps to turn energy consuming assets off, when they are not in use.
