From Guest Blogger Aidan Jenkins: Struggling with the Rising Costs of Electricity? Four Tips Business Owners Need to Know
With the cost of electricity continuously on the rise, domestic consumers aren’t the only ones struggling with their power bills. Power price pains are zapping the life out of businesses too – and it’s affecting both small and large companies. The financial stress of these increasing bills is forcing business owners to take drastic actions and change the way they do business.
Small and medium businesses consume 50% of the nation’s energy output – but yet so many owners are at a loss for where to start with effective energy reduction measures. Whilst most businesses are trying to keep their costs to a minimum, the increased power bills are frightening and many people are facing a desperate battle. To help with the struggle, we’ve taken a close look into some practical tips every business owner needs to know about.
1. Run an Energy Efficient Business
Having an energy efficient business is a simple and effective way to take control of the overhead costs. First, map out your energy consumption and determine what usage is essential and what can be modified. It’s a good idea to get familiar with the different energy options out there so do a quick search on the internet to see what business electricity providers are around and how they can assist.
Be aware of any local laws and market trends. For many companies, an eco-friendly approach can actually give your business a competitive advantage. In most cases, tax breaks will also be available to support the transition. Once you have all this information together, create a plan and start implementing it.
2. Improve Your Building’s Energy Efficiency
Making your business energy efficient doesn’t just stop internally though; there are changes you can consider from the outside too. Buildings can account for 48% of energy consumption and gives business owners one of the best opportunities to lower operating costs and cut carbon emissions.
As with the above point, you’ll need to measure and track your business’s energy consumption across all facilities and then compare bills. Building awareness throughout your business to change employee behaviour is critical for these changes too.
Externally, maintaining the ‘low-carbon’ diet will help improve your building’s energy efficiency by managing and reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. As your business makes progress, this can be tracked against sustainable goals. Other building tools to cut costs can include professionally installed window film and radiant heating.
3. Consider the 4 Main Energy Areas of Your Business
When you’re finding ways to reduce energy costs, take a close look at the main areas your business will be zapping power from. Lighting tends to be the most common and easily avoidable pitfall, taking up to 60% of a business’s energy bill. Ensure all lights are switched to energy-efficient fluorescent or low power LED lights as these can cut the energy usage by 35%. Encourage all employees to turn off lights when they’re not needed or switch to automatic scheduling and timers to control the usage. Where possible, harness the power of the sun too. Purchasing solar panels and feeding energy back into the grid can provide business owners with significant tax breaks and allow you to market your business as ‘green’.
Business equipment contributes to a huge amount of energy loss in companies too so it’s crucial to encourage staff to turn off computers and appliances overnight. Consider switching to monitors and computer systems that offer a ‘sleep’ or ‘power-down’ option, this can reduce power use by up to 70%. Some business equipment will offer energy-star certifications so look out for these products to cut costs.
Lastly, water usage and costs associated with heating ventilation and air-conditioning can be expensive and contribute significantly to your usage. For a relatively low price, businesses can install low-flow faucets and toilets to return significant savings – this is ideal for restaurants or other businesses that have a high water usage.
If your business is using old heating or cooling units and thermostats it’s safe to say you’re probably throwing money out the door. Whilst the initial cost of installing energy controlled solutions can be pricey, they can save more than 20% in energy consumption yearly.
4. Compare Business Electricity Prices
If you’re a business owner and your energy contract is due for renewal, it pays to compare business electricity prices. Power bills can change considerably from company to company and it’s astonishing how many businesses let their contracts roll over and end up in noncompetitive agreements. Adequate research into what other business electricity providers can offer can end up saving your own business a lot of money.
Above anything, it’s absolutely crucial you understand your electricity plan and exactly what’s on offer – same with your gas plan. When you compare plans, consider what factors you’ll need to question beyond the base cost too. Most businesses aren’t aware whether they’re eligible to switch electricity providers so research is vital. In most cases you should be able to make the switch when you’re changing address and ending (or unhappy) with your current contract and provider.
Use online resources to understand the prices, rates and pricing terms. You’ll need a good understanding on what impacts these energy prices and how any discounts and offers can influence how much you pay. Adequate research and speaking with a trusted provider will help to understand this information and whether the state tariffs relate to what you pay.
Author Bio
This article is written by Aidan Jenkins, Managing Director of Infinite Energy, business electricity provider to Perth and South West WA. Connect with Aidan on Google+ or LinkedIn.
