Electrical energy saving ideas for businesses

Following volatility in the energy market and huge price prices over the last few years, many businesses have introduced energy saving measures.

Improving the energy efficiency of your business could help to save money, protect against further energy fluctuations and make it more sustainable for the future.

As well as reviewing your energy to ensure you’re on the best one for your business, there are a range of measures that can help you save the amount of electricity your business consumes. These include easy-to-implement actions right through to more long-term goals, varying in the amount of time and investment needed. For businesses looking to save electricity, there are a number of ideas.

So what can businesses do to save electricity?

Start with an assessment

The first step to reviewing and improving your energy efficiency is to carry out an assessment of how much electricity you use and where savings could be made. It often helps to nominate an individual to take control of this task. There are various guides available that can help them.

An energy assessment will enable you to make a plan for the introduction of your energy saving measures, incorporating short-term actions right through to a long-term vision.

Turn off the lights

It sounds obvious, but turning off unused lighting can make a massive difference to your energy usage and your finances. Many businesses still use electricity outside of operational hours, which is unnecessary and wasteful.

The simplest way of using less electricity to light your premises is to instil a habit among your employees of turning off lights when leaving a space unoccupied. Meeting rooms and storage areas, for example, ate often unnecessarily lit. A bigger investment is to introduce timers, sensors and motion detectors which automatically switch lights on and off when an area if not in use.

But it’s not just about using less lighting when your premises are not in use. It’s also about doing so during work hours. Wherever possible, make the most of daylight. Natural light is great for energy efficiency as well as being a wellbeing tonic that has been shown to brighten moods and even increase productivity.

Replace inefficient lighting with LEDs

Upgrade traditional lighting and fluorescent and halogen bulbs with LEDs to minimise your electrical energy usage. It’s amazing what a difference this will make to your business’s energy efficiency and cost savings. Read more here about the benefits of using LED lighting.

Turn off appliances

Just like with your lighting, any appliances that are not in use should be switched off at the mains. Encourage your staff to switch off monitors, kitchen appliances, vending machines and photocopiers at the end of each working day.

Old appliances tend to be less energy efficient than newer ones, so consider replacing them, too.

Install a smart meter

Smart meters measure how much electricity and gas you’re using. The readings are automatically sent to your energy supplier, eliminating estimated bills and allowing you to take control of your usage.
Ask your energy supplier if you are eligible for a smart meter. If you are, it will usually be installed for free.

Use energy efficient products

Using energy efficient machinery and equipment can make a massive difference to your business’s sustainability. But how do you choose the right products?

The Government’s Energy Technology List is a great resource for finding products to suit your needs. Using strict criteria to measure energy efficiency, the list features a range of electrical products from lighting to air conditioning units, and hand dryers to refrigerators.

Call us on 0113 257 8212 to speak to our electrical experts about ways that your business can implement energy savings.