2015 brought yet another disappointing summer in the UK, but the chances are you didn’t have to turn the lights and heating on too regularly.
Well that’s all about to change as the winds pick up and the leaves begin to fall.
Autumn is here and it won’t be long before you have to think about winter and the excruciating business energy bills that come with it.
The unit price for gas and electricity has fallen this year. It could have fallen even further if you joined the Business Gas.com collective switching group before the October deadline.
If you weren’t quick enough to join the gas buying group then you’ll have to go about cutting your gas bills the hard way – by reducing consumption.
Here are our top tips for slashing business energy bills by curbing usage.
Create an eco-friendly office environment
Making environmentally friendly choices when it comes to kitting out your office is a great way of curbing consumption and minimising your businesses’ carbon footprint.
Changes could be as big as replacing the office fridge with a more environmentally friendly alternative or as small as fitting draught-proof strips underneath doors. When you come to make these changes always think about the payback time.
Payback Time (years) = Initial Investment (£) / Annual Savings (£)
Working out payback time helps you make informed decisions about whether a particular change is worth the initial investment. If draught-proof doors will be paid back in one year then they are definitely worth having whereas if a fridge takes 20 years to pay back you might have to think more carefully.
Start using your smart meter properly
Smart meters are already fairly common in medium sized and large business premises. But this doesn’t necessarily mean you are making the most of your meter.
Simply watching data in real time, or half-heartedly analysing smart meter information won’t do much to change your consumption patterns in the long run.
You should collect and process all the raw consumption data you can, turning it into actionable information. Try comparing consumption data to local temperature data and see if you can learn anything about how office air conditioning usage in your office responds to the weather.
It might be worth getting an expert to do this for you.
Switch off
It might sound simple but switching off office equipment at night is absolutely crucial to reducing your consumption and energy bills.
The Carbon Trust says that a standard photocopier left on standby overnight wastes enough energy to make 30 cups of tea. Before you go home at night go around and check all screens and other unnecessary electronics are cut out.
If you keep regular opening hours it might be worth thinking about creating a separate circuit breaker for non-essential equipment which automatically turns off after 6 PM.
Consult an energy switching expert
The market for energy is highly competitive and large sections of it are still shrouded in secrecy. In these conditions it pays to have someone who understands the market on your side.
Business Gas.com is full of energy market experts and we’re constantly using our expertise to leverage suppliers and get the best deals for our customers. Get in touch to find out more. Call: 0800 157 7175
The future looks smart for energy consumption. Following some high profile success stories in the non-domestic energy market, smart-thermostats and other smart heating systems are beginning to break into the mainstream consumer market.
Domestic and non-domestic energy customers are going to be better informed about their energy situation. They will know how and when to use energy most effectively to cut consumption and reduce their bills.
Smart meters vs. Smart energy systems
There is some disagreement about which technology will have the biggest impact on the smart energy future. The government has invested heavily in the smart metering project, but some industry bigwigs believe this technology will be outdated before the end of the decade.
Representatives from Co-operative Energy recently told the Competition and Markets Authority “technology such as British Gas’ Hive and Google’s Nest indicated the future of energy consumption.”
Smart thermostats
Hive is probably the best known ‘new wave’ domestic smart thermostat. As the colourful adverts boast, Hive lets homeowners control their heating from anywhere at any time – by phone, tablet or laptop.
While many people will excite at the prospect of coming home to a warm house, the potential for this technology is much greater. In the future we might expect, for example, smart heating systems to switch off fridges when energy is at its most expensive (smart energy systems will make meters more flexible so the unit price for energy might vary significantly throughout the day).
Other technologies are available and some work slightly differently from the ‘smart-thermostat’ model adopted by Hive. The Nest Learning Thermostat, available from Npower can self-programme a heating schedule based on the user’s past preferences and lifestyle. Designed by Google, it is also an exceedingly attractive piece of kit.
One of the early crystallisations of the much heralded ‘Internet of Things’, smart home heating systems give domestic and non-domestic energy users more control over their energy purchasing. The idea is that this increased control will translate into more efficient energy use when implemented correctly.
Growth of the technologies
The European smart-thermostat market is set to boom. Driven largely by the EU’s 2020 climate emissions targets, we can expect demand and take up to boom in countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Market analysis from Frost & Sullivan found that the market earned revenues of $152.5 million in 2014 while it expects this figure to rocket up to $2,570.6 million in 2019.
Much of this growth in demand will come from the domestic sector, but small and medium sized businesses will almost certainly take notice. Smart thermostats offer significant cost-savings in the long run, especially when users get to grips with the technology. However, initial prices are still high, so adoption rates are low in the medium and low-end customer segments.
Smart thermostats for non-domestic energy users
Clearly, non-domestic users who on average use more energy than their domestic counterparts, will have more opportunities to save on their consumption. The saving potential is compounded because businesses have access to more advanced monitoring and heating systems which can reduce consumption by even larger degrees.
While domestic thermostats like Hive and Nest will be suitable for many smaller businesses, forward-thinking larger firms should be investing more heavily in the technology. Fundamentally, this is a technology market so systems can always be improves with more sensors, more connectivity functions and better interfaces. All of these things have the power to reduce consumption.
When done correctly in large energy-hungry businesses, a smart consumption system can pay huge dividends. Previously, we wrote an article about how one Marriott hotel managed to slash their energy bills by using a series of clever sensors and a demand-response programme to tweak consumption in key areas.
Businesses in other industries have enjoyed similar success. A similar programme introduced in Tesco stores generated energy savings of up to 30%.
Hotel managers know that it takes a lot of running around and pleasant smiles to keep guests happy but it also takes a lot of electricity and gas to feed, warm and sleep dozens of people.
Business Gas.com work with hoteliers up and down the country, ensuring they get the best deal on their energy and helping them to keep customers happy.
The Marriott group, which spends almost £60 million on energy in some 140 hotels across Europe, has taken steps to reduce its energy consumption at peak times by instituting a new ‘demand-response’ program.
Other hotels can learn some important lessons about consumption management from the Marriott project.
What is a demand response program?
As you might expect, total national energy consumption varies throughout the day. During hours of darkness, when most people are asleep, total demand is low. At other times like when lots of people are watching England play football energy consumption can be very high.
Because it is difficult to manage the supply of energy, the National Grid attempts to moderate the demand for energy. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to charge flexible energy purchasers higher premiums during periods of peak demand.
In turn, this gives flexible energy purchasers an incentive to reduce consumption. So, for example, some manufacturers might perform the most energy intensive processes at night when there is less pressure on the grid.
Hotels though, do not often have this luxury because they have to effectively cater for every guest need. They cannot simply switch out the lights in the evening time because the rest of the country is tuning into Coronation Street.
What is the Marriott doing to reduce demand?
The Marriott hotel near Regent’s Park in London has adopted a new energy-demand-management programme which is helping them to save money, as well as the environment.
A control box installed at the premises has the power to remotely turn down all elements of the hotels energy usage. At times of peak demand, it can control the consumption of air conditioning, fridges and ice boxes, as well as a whole host of other appliances. And importantly, the hotel says that it can do all of this without any customers noticing.
The hotel has managed to introduce a complete waste reduction package, which is not only saving them money but is also bolstering the hotel’s green credentials.
The hotel chain has plans to put all of its eligible UK hotels on a demand-response programme, potentially saving a considerable amount each year.
Applying the Marriott lessons to your hotel
If you run a hotel, or a chain of hotels, which purchases energy flexibly, then you might be able to reduce your consumption by learning lessons from the Marriott.
Reducing demand at peak times is the name of the game, so first of all you need to evaluate when peak times may be. This will vary according to factors like the weather, or the time of year but by paying attention to market reports you should be able to identify patterns of peak demand.
This can be done by, for example, turning down temperatures in the evening time when demand on the National Grid is greater. You should attempt to find the most effective balance between keeping customers happy and saving money on your energy bills.
Other ways of reducing hotel energy bills
Reducing consumption is not the only way to slash your hotel energy bills. There are a number of other ways in which you can reduce your monthly energy spending which do not involve micro-managing demand.
One such way is to talk to an energy broker and get them to secure you the best deal form a supplier. Or alternatively, join a buying group and take advantage of increased economies of scale by purchasing as part of a group.
Find out if you can reduce your energy bills by calling a member of our team today on 0800 157 7175
The Internet of Things (IoT) has a great deal of potential to generate change in society. Devices and appliances, or ‘things’, which can detect change via sensors and then communicate this information over the Internet are seen as real technology game changers.
As time goes on the electronics and sensors needed to make this happen will be becoming cheaper and cheaper and many experts believe that by 2025 IoT will have fundamentally altered the way we live and do business.
The energy industry is one of the areas expected to undergo the most significant change; commentators expect significant cuts to business energy costs.
More visibility
The IoT is a difficult concept, especially if you are trying to work out the advantage of a toaster being connected to the internet.
The advantage normally lies in a greater degree of visibility. Devices such as smart phones, boilers and weather vanes which are connected to the Internet will be able to communicate with manufacturers, operators and other connected devices. They will ‘talk’ about the weather, movements and a whole host of other inputs to communicate a clear picture of the world automatically.
The added visibility will give either you or the manufacturer the ability to make smarter decisions and better products.
Smart gas meters across the internet
Smart meters are already widely available and, though it is a relatively young IoT technology, it has a great capacity to moderate energy demand and reduce costs.
A smart gas or electricity meter will communicate consumption data directly to the energy supplier and to you.
This can generate two cost saving benefits. Firstly, because the meter can communicate directly with the supplier, it means you will always get an accurate reading on your energy bill and will avoid overpaying or receiving the dreaded estimated bills.
Secondly, because the information is communicated directly to you through a real-time online reporting system, it means that you can monitor your consumption more closely. This can empower you to alter your usage patterns, identify areas of waste and reduce demand.
The smart metering roll out can be supplemented with dynamic ‘time of use’ which will reflect variable costs of generation. In this way, businesses which can purchase energy flexibly, for example by running high energy processes at night time, stand to save if they use smart meters effectively.
This will also help deliver a more stable energy system by moderating demand so as to ensure a more constant flow of energy, rather than jumpy production.
The future of the Internet of Things – a smarter supply side
The Internet of Things will also increase the potential for intelligent supply-side management.
Smart grids operated on the Internet of Things will allow distribution to be managed in real time rather than relying on historical patterns of use or the gut feelings of network operators.
They are starting to be used on electricity networks, monitoring the spread of energy as it travels from plant to end-user, and hold a number of benefits to society. Chief among the benefits is that they generate efficiencies.
Electricity is difficult to store so, unless there is immediate demand, it will be wasted. Smart grids will seek to perfectly balance the supply and demand of the electricity network, ensuring that waste is kept to a minimum and consequently reducing the price paid by households and businesses.
Smart grid projects do exist but are relatively small scale so far. Projects like the Glasgow Future City and Pecan Street in Texas show how utilities can be delivered efficiently on a small scale; national smart grid systems might still be some way off.
To find out more about Business Gas.com smart meter solutions click here or read more about online gas reporting here. Alternatively, talk to one of our advisers on 0800 157 7175.
For hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses, slimming electricity bills requires a multi-track approach.
You should make sure you have the most efficient equipment, know the areas where most energy is being used and make sure you are getting the best price for it.
Here are our top tips on slashing your energy bills.
Generate efficiencies
Many of these tips require you to install new, more efficient equipment. When looking to invest in new energy-saving equipment you should consider the initial costs, and the potential annual savings to calculate a repayment time.
Anything with a payback time lower than a few years is well worth the investment.
Done right you could generate up to 40% reduction in your energy bills from energy efficiencies alone.
Lighting efficiency
- Fitting energy efficient light bulbs could save 75% of your electricity bill.
- Sensors which extinguish the lights when a room is not in use can generate significant savings in rooms such as toilets or storerooms.
Heating efficiency
- Don’t be tempted to change the thermostat regularly. This uses a lot more energy than simply maintaining a constant temperature.
- Insulating your pipes is very cheap and can generate huge savings in terms of the heat that is normally wasted.
- Service your boiler regularly and replace older models. While replacing an old boiler is expensive, the long-term savings can make it worthwhile.
Water efficiency
- Flow regulators on taps can significantly reduce the amount of unnecessary water used by your guests.
- Low-flush toilets are a great way of reducing water consumption in bathrooms. You can make a DIY low-flush toilet simply by putting a brick in the cistern – this is an easy way of reducing the amount of water used per flush.
Insulation efficiency
- Double glazed windows reduce around 25% of heat loss that occurs through single-glazed windows.
- Draught proofing can prevent a further 35% of heat loss.
- Insulate your wall cavities to stop a potential 9% of heat escaping.
- Insulate your roof to save up to 22% of heat loss.
Monitor your usage
Installing a smart meter in your restaurant or hotel is a great way of saving money. Not only do smart meters, coupled with elaborate reporting platforms, allow you to say goodbye to estimated bills. But they also allow you to better monitor your energy consumption and identify areas where savings could be generated.
By collecting this data on your energy consumption you can identify areas where energy consumption is being used efficiently and where it is being used wastefully, such as at night.
Switch to a cheaper supplier
The quickest and easiest way to reduce your energy bills is to switch to a cheaper supplier.
At Business Gas.com we pride ourselves on finding the cheapest possible gas deals for all of our customers. Get in touch to save today – call us on 0800 157 7175.
Time is ticking for your business to comply with the Government’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). Businesses which qualify for the scheme are obligated to carry out audits, identify efficiency savings and file reports with a lead assessor no later than December 5th 2015. There is a lot to do in less than a year.
What is ESOS?
Administered by the Environment Agency, ESOS is the UK government’s response to parts of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. Effectively, the scheme serves to turn this EU directive into British law –making it mandatory rather than optional.
ESOS obligates qualifying organisations to assess their total energy consumption and pass the results on to the Environment Agency every four years, with the first year being 2015. Total energy consumption applies to all buildings, processes and transport used by the organisation. If your business does not have detailed breakdowns of all of this consumption then an audit will need to be carried out over a 12 month period.
The scheme is designed to help businesses identify areas where energy consumption could be reduced or made more efficient. Although organisations are under no obligation to actually carry out the efficiency-savings, we believe that many firms will identify some lucrative cost savings that will benefit both the environment and the company balance sheets.
Will my business qualify for ESOS?
The basic qualification for ESOS compliance is large organisations. This will mainly apply to businesses but will also include some not-for-profit and non-public-sector bodies.
ESOS qualifying organisations will either:
- Employ 250 or more people.
- Employ less than 250 people but have an annual turnover in excess of €50M, and an annual balance sheet total in excess of €43M.
Make sure you are ESOS compliant
There are some important considerations that ESOS qualifying organisations will need to make to make sure they reach the standard of compliance.
- Monitor your consumption at all levels of the organisation. This means at different sites as well as in transport activities and industrial processes.
- When trying to identify potential savings look for particularly high levels of consumption or for sites which are operating particularly efficiently and ask what they are doing differently.
- Make sure you appoint a lead assessor to approve your work. Although the bulk of the assessment can be carried out by a suitably qualified individual within the organisation, you will need an accredited lead assessor to approve your compliance.
While at times ESOS compliance may feel like an exercise in bureaucratic hoop-jumping, it is important to remembers that there is real scope for the this scheme to save businesses money on their consumption.
In the UK, the Government expects that ESOS could lead to about £1.6 billion in savings. The Carbon Trust meanwhile believes the savings could be as much as three times that amount.
If you would like further advice on complying with the ESOS regulations call a team member on: 0800 157 7175
We are now in the grips of the coldest months of the year. For the restaurant trade, this is often the very time when punters want to come in out of the cold, and warm their souls with some comfort food and a glass of something nice. Equally, though, the enivoronment needs to feel warm and welcoming. And keeping the non-cooking part of the restaurant warm takes money.
If you’re looking for ways to keep the bills down, there are ideas to help you do that and here at Business Gas.com, we thought we’d run through some of these below. In the process we might also debunk some fairly serious winter myths. And we’re not talking about the one about the fat man and the chimney.
Seal the windows
First off, we’re looking at keeping whatever heat there is, in the restaurant. It is true that a lot of heat escapes through the windows, so check these first. Of course replacing windows with double-glazed, draft-proof ones would be ideal, but not all independent restaurants have pockets deep enough for that, particularly in January. However, you can check for gaps and hold your hand up to feel where the cold air is coming in. Then seal those up!
Manage your thermostats
Two things here. Firstly, if your heating system has a programmable thermostat, make sure you do program it to come on and off, and at the right temperature for the season, to make sure it’s working as efficiently as possible (and do be realistic about when you really need to heat the place). More modern systems can do a lot of the thinking for you, but older thermostats will need some instruction. Secondly, if the thermostat is not programmable, still give yourself the time off from taking orders to go and set it manually, in tune for the winter season.
A good benchmark number is 68 degrees for when the premises are in use. However, each degree you turn it down will equate to a 1% saving on your bills. Another word of advice – don’t leave the heating on low, but constantly, thinking that is more efficient. It’s not. And don’t turn it right up first thing in the morning, thinking it will heat the place quicker… that will also lead to higher bills!
A warming fireplace
Following on with the theme of heating, if you’re a pub or a rustic country restaurant has an open fire, you have a built-in route to energy saving… and one your customers will love. Yes you need to pay for the firewood, but then nature handles the rest. Aside from the incredible heat they kick out, the aesthetics are pure Christmas card: the smell, the sounds of crackling wood, the look of it.
Get a better deal on your gas
At the end of the day,we all rely on our central heating and whilst following our frugal tips is common sense, it needn’t mean abandoing the heating system entirely. At Business Gas.com, we are able to secure the best gas deals for your restaurant. Through our knowledge of the gas markets and group buying power, our gas prices are highly likely to be lower than what you’re spending now.