Monitoring energy use could save billions

SMEs could be set to lose as much as £3bn in 2010 as a result of inefficient equipment and energy wasteage.

According to The Carbon Trust, out-of-date machinery is small business enemy number one.

However, energy company npower says that much of the problem is down to business owners who simply can’t see the wastage and are losing money without knowing it.

To tackle the problem npower is providing free energy monitors to every small business in the UK signing up to its ‘e3′ package, which will give businesses a real time view of their energy use and let them see the instant effect of turning equipment on and off.

Allan Robinson, head of products for npower energy services, said: “For many small enterprises the priority has to be running the business, particularly during these tough economic times, meaning there is little time to dedicate to saving energy.

“Even though small measures like switching off equipment can make a big difference to energy costs, there’s no obvious impact of flicking a light switch.
Just seeing your miles per gallon can make you drive more economically, so actually seeing the energy you’re using can encourage people to stop wasting energy.”

npower’s energy monitors are simple to install and show users the energy they’re using at any given time, the cost per month and a record of energy use for each working day.

npower calculates businesses taking energy efficiency measures could save up to 20% on their bills, equivalent to an average £1,000 per year.

Small businesses can sign-up to ‘e3′ and receive a free monitor from npower at www.npower.com/saveenergyin2010, which also provides advice and guidance on how to save energy at work.

Energy waste – the facts

• 30% of the energy consumed in the UK is wasted costing businesses billions of pounds

• 20% of the total energy bill in offices is accounted for by office equipment – about half of this use stems from PCs and monitors

• Office equipment is expected to account for 30% of energy use by 2020

• Lighting a typical office overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1,000 cups of tea

Top energy saving tips for 2010

• Get a free real time energy monitor so you can see exactly what energy you’re using

• Switch off computer monitors during lunch breaks and activate stand-by options to reduce energy consumption by up to 90% per year

• By switching laser printers off in the evenings and at weekends, energy consumption can be reduced by 75%

• Think about switching to laptops. Prices are falling and laptops use only around 10% of the energy of a standard PC

• Energy saving light bulbs use 75% less electricity than standard light bulbs and last up to 10 times longer

• Seven-day timers on shared equipment, such as printers, vending machines and water coolers, will ensure that they’re not left on overnight or at weekends and can save up to 70% on energy costs