It’s the hottest topic in the UK at the moment – the historic rise in energy costs. As everyone tightens their belts to brace themselves for bumper energy bills, companies are starting to seek out practical ways to reduce business energy costs.
Learning how to cut costs is a valuable asset to a business. It not only helps you weather this current storm, but also allows your company to participate in more sustainable practices. Implementing energy-saving tips can lower your bill and boost the eco-credentials of your business.
Unprecedented Price Hikes Hitting Businesses Hard
Businesses both large and small in the UK are feeling the pressure as energy prices soar to record new highs. The Federation of Small Businesses reports the bleak news that over half of small businesses fear they will fold over the next year, with electricity bills rising by 349% and gas by 424% over the past 18 months.
Rightly, many businesses are asking why their energy bills are skyrocketing quite so steeply. At the heart of the issue lies the global energy crisis, driven by both an increased energy demand post-pandemic and the unrest between Russia and Ukraine. As demand outstripped supply for energy last year, prices rose so much that we saw dozens of British energy companies go out of business. Now, the war in Ukraine is putting significant pressure on energy companies, as Russia supplies 40% of the EU’s gas.
While domestic properties benefit from Ofgem’s energy price cap, business energy bills are not offered this same regulatory safeguard. Understandably, businesses of all sizes have been campaigning for government support. In September 2022, the government announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme that pledges to protect British businesses from the impact of rising energy costs. This involves the government working with suppliers to reduce wholesale energy costs to businesses.
Now is certainly the time to learn how to reduce business energy bills, so get proactive and help soften the impact of the Great British energy price rise with our 18 Energy Saving Tips.
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Conduct an energy audit
For companies who want to know how to reduce business energy bills, a good starting point is conducting an energy audit. An energy audit identifies exactly how your business uses and loses energy. Although you can conduct one yourself using the likes of a smart meter (available from your energy supplier), a far more accurate survey can be conducted by a professional auditing company. Or why not see if your supplier offers businesses a complimentary audit?
Your audit will bring to light what your energy-heavy tasks are and where energy is being wasted. You can make a bespoke plan in response to this information, immediately cutting costs.
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Make a dent in your peak demand
Peak demand refers to the period in your business’s working day where most energy is used. Naturally, it varies from business to business but in an office, it tends to be between 9am and 5pm.
To make a dent in your peak demand, consider staggering workers’ start times and shifting the use of energy-intensive equipment to early morning or through the night when energy rates are lower.
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Switch suppliers
For such a simple way to bring your business energy savings, many companies fail to make the switch. In this highly competitive market, it’s never been easier to change supplier and though it may feel like an inconvenience, now is the time to move!
Take your time to explore the different tariffs offered by the competitors of your current supplier and see how this might benefit your business based on the results of your energy audit. Although you shouldn’t be won over by special offers, some energy companies offer useful perks. If these include energy-saving software or equipment, this should be viewed as a real boon for your office, especially with energy prices set to remain high for the foreseeable future. Having the tech to monitor energy usage in the office is a big plus.
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Switch to energy-efficient equipment
A process that you can roll out over several years, replacing older equipment with poor energy ratings with new, highly rated models can make a marked impact on your energy usage. When budgeting for this, make the equipment that you use most frequently your priority, such as computers, printers and photocopiers.
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Switch to energy-efficient lighting
A great way to lower business energy bills is by making the switch to LED lighting. This switch can represent a massive 75% energy saving on your lighting costs, and this type of lighting lasts 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs.
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Switch off lights
Although it costs a business nothing to switch off lights (and indeed will ultimately save money), leaving lights on is a habit that can be hard to break. Try using signage and even assign light monitors who do hourly sweeps of the office or business premises to switch off lights. Easily one of the simplest business energy-saving tips, this is a good first step to get your workplace on board with energy-saving strategies.
If you struggle with compliance with this energy-lowering tactic, consider investing in sensors for lights in hallways and meeting rooms.
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Utilise natural lighting
As long as privacy isn’t an issue, try to reduce the use of window dressings such as blinds or curtains in the workplace, letting the natural sunlight provide enough illumination. It has long been known that natural light in the workplace improves the productivity and well-being of workers, so to reduce business energy costs and create a happier workforce, switch off the artificial lighting and let the sun work its magic.
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Use focused lighting and dimmer switches
For workplaces in the UK, especially during the long, dark winter months, natural sunlight cannot be relied upon all of the time. An energy-saving alternative is the use of focused lighting – for example, rather than lighting a whole workspace full of cubicles, occupied cubicles are given individual light sources.
Dimmer switches give you even more control over lighting, letting you reduce the intensity of artificial lights when the sun allows it.
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Say goodbye to standby
Much like switching off lights, using the standby mode on computers, laptops and work appliances has become second nature – but there are decent energy savings to be made by switching off appliances instead. This energy-saving step can be particularly impactful in an office full of computers.
If your business manufactures, consider switching off the motors of your machines during breaks and lunch, as well as at the end of the working day. It’s important to label the machinery switches carefully so that each is properly shut down, thus reducing standby energy drainage.
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Use power-saving mode
Commonly found in modern appliances, power-saving mode really can help to shave money off your business energy bills, especially if you have a large workforce using computers or equipment. It is as simple as activating the mode and making sure workers keep their equipment set that way.
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Optimise the speed of your equipment
More applicable to businesses that use manufacturing machines, choosing the optimal speed will prevent peaks of energy use. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s guidance for ultimate energy efficiency and perform regular maintenance to avoid unnecessary energy wastage.
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Switch off equipment at the end of the day
Just as you can have a dedicated light monitor, so can you have a plug-checker. The biggest savings from switching appliances and equipment off at the wall will come when this is done at the end of each working day, before the weekend and for annual closures such as bank holidays, Easter and Christmas. This will banish hours of phantom power drainage, offering a business notable savings across the course of the year.
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Use your doors and windows wisely
Another stunningly simple way to lower business energy bills is closing doors in your work premises. This reduces drafts and keeps hot air trapped in workspaces. Again, habit can come into play here, so if workers consistently leave doors open, consider installing swinging doors which will automatically close behind them.
Windows can be a bit of a contentious issue in the workspace, but careful management of the internal temperatures can reduce the need for staff to open windows if it feels stuffy when the heating is on, thus reducing heat loss and energy drainage.
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Set your thermostat
While you need to provide a comfortable working environment for staff, lowering the temperature of the workspace by just one degree Celsius can offer energy savings of 10% annually. Why not discuss with the workforce whether they’re willing to opt for this small decrease? Don’t forget to champion the environmental impact of such an energy saving by the business.
If your workspace doesn’t already have one, install a programmable thermostat, allowing you to drop the temperature when there are no workers around (for example, overnight and at the weekends).
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Insulate your premises
British workplaces can be notoriously chilly in the winter, forcing companies to crank up their thermostat, while scorching summers in recent years have led to stuffy, uncomfortable offices. Sufficient insulation can make for a more pleasant workspace in both the winter (by reducing the escape of heat) and in the summer (by keeping the cool air in).
It’s worth checking periodically for government funds and schemes to see if your insulation improvement plan can be subsidised while you lower your business energy bill.
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Turn to nature
If you’re in charge of the exterior of the workplace, you can turn to nature and use mindful planting to shelter the building from winds and provide cooling shade in the summer.
At the other end of the spectrum, if tall, heavy planting is casting a gloomy shadow over your workspace and causing workers to turn to artificial lighting during the daytime, consider some hefty pruning to bring back plenty of natural light to your premises.
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Assess the workplace kitchen
Workers love their tea and lunch breaks and that means the workplace kitchen and break room can be a hotspot for energy use. With many workplaces using staggered break times and mealtimes, kettles can be boiled dozens of times a day, representing a surprising drain on energy. Consider installing a hot water caddy in place of a kettle or offering a tea and coffee vending machine to level out these energy spikes.
If staff have access to a fridge-freezer, make sure this appliance is regularly maintained, with frequent defrosting to keep it as energy efficient as possible. If a microwave is available, put up a sign asking for it to be switched off between uses, and see if it has a power-saving setting.
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Get your team on board
Teamwork makes the dream work, but it can be tricky to bring a company’s energy-reducing goals to fruition. Even with the best intentions, staff commonly forget to follow the suggested steps to reduce business energy costs, especially since they may see little incentive to do so. However, with the energy price rises of 2022 making such a marked impact on everyone’s lives and finances, people are far more aware of the need to make changes.
Why not offer your staff comprehensive energy-saving training, explaining which steps can be used at home to reduce domestic energy use? As people start to adopt certain energy-saving actions at home (which they’re more inclined to follow through on because it saves their own hard-earned money), they’re more likely to remember to carry them out in the workplace too.
Consistency is key when implementing these changes and delegating the monitoring or actioning of these strategies will bring the best results for your business. At a time when businesses are crumbling under the pressure of their energy expenditure, taking the time to focus your attention on energy usage allows you to take a pragmatic approach and gain a sense of control.