Running a business means spending money on salaries, rent, heating, and lighting. The various costs all add up, and managing your business costs in today’s financial climate can be challenging.
As living costs increase and the demand and supply of energy are skyrocketing, many businesses are forced to make changes to keep their operating costs low. One way to ensure this is to become energy-efficient. Read on to learn how your business can get on top of managing its running costs by reducing its energy consumption.
Understand Your Energy Bills
Understanding your electricity and gas bills will allow you to see how much energy you consume and allow you to reduce your consumption. Additionally, your gas and electricity bills show you when your contract expires, leaving you room to compare business energy rates to find an affordable tariff and switch suppliers.
Your bills may be formatted differently depending on who supplies your business. However, there are four key areas you should pay attention to:
- The breakdown of how you are billed monthly.
- Your monthly energy consumption (kWh).
- Details regarding your contract expiration date and when you can switch energy providers.
- The standing charge and the unit rates.
The standing charges and unit rates make up the main costs of your business energy bills. The standing charge is billed daily to cover the costs for the national grid and any expenses by the supplier to supply electricity and gas to your business premises directly. The unit rate is the amount of gas and electricity your business consumes.
Once you understand how to read your bill and how the standing charge and unit rate affect overall business energy costs, you can determine where to reduce consumption and save money.
Perform an Energy Audit
Becoming energy-efficient begins with conducting an energy audit. The primary goal of an energy audit is to pinpoint where exactly you are wasting and suggest practical ways to reduce your energy usage and save money.
Therey performance—an onsite audit suits larger commercial businesses like manufacturing plants or industrial enterprises.
A preliminary audit, on the other hand, can be conducted on the phone or virtually online, where your energy supplier performs a cost/benefit analysis of your consumption and suggests where you ca are two types of energy audits: an onsite and a virtual energy audit. A professional inspector performs an onsite audit that gives you a detailed and comprehensive audit of your business energn implement changes and reduce your consumption. Most energy suppliers provide the service for free, so call your provider and ask about conducting an energy audit.
Explore Renewable Energy Sources
Businesses are the largest consumers of electricity in the country. The energy crisis has seen more and more businesses explore renewable energy as an affordable and sustainable option. Renewable energy options such as geothermal energy, hydro, wind and solar power are available for businesses ready to make the switch.
There are three simple ways to switch to renewable energy; green energy tariff, switching to a renewable energy supplier, or producing your own.
- Green energy tariff/ Switching to a renewable energy supplier: With a green tariff, your energy supplier purchases renewable energy on your behalf to match some or all of the electricity you buy. Wind farms and hydroelectric power stations can provide these types of renewable energy.
- Producing your own energy is typically done by installing solar panels and harnessing the sun to produce electricity. Any excess electricity your business produces can be sold back to the grid.
The long-term benefits of switching to renewable energy sources include,
- Lower energy bills.
- Fewer disruptions to your energy source.
- Reducing your carbon footprint.
- Tapping into a new market of eco-conscious consumers.
Small Changes, Big Rewards
Being more conscious of wasting energy can save your business money. Energy-saving measures such as installing smart meters, programmable thermostats, and replacing appliances with more energy-efficient ones can significantly reduce consumption.
Switching to energy-saving lighting and motion sensor lighting can save 70 to 80% of electricity. This will save you at least £400 a year on utility bills. Even small changes can have a significant impact.
Final Thoughts
Most UK businesses are concerned about rising energy prices and how this affects their overall running costs. A business’s energy consumption can be reduced by making small or long-term changes, such as switching to renewable energy sources or becoming more energy efficient.
The right energy efficiency strategy can also help boost your brand reputation, prevent volatile energy markets from impacting your business, increase employee productivity, and protect the environment. For incredible tips and advice on how to run your business more efficiently, http://homebusinessmag.com/.