In this article, we will explore the difference between energy optimisation and energy saving, alongside providing tips on how your business can start optimising energy today.

The average business consumes a great deal of energy. However, most small or medium-sized businesses can reduce their energy bills by 18 to 25% through becoming more efficient. So, learning how to optimise energy at your business must be a priority to reduce costs at a time when everyone is feeling the squeeze. But it’s not just about saving money, it’s also about meeting emissions targets. When you become more energy-efficient, you reduce harmful emissions released into the atmosphere. 

Optimising energy is slightly different to using less energy or saving energy. When you optimise energy, you are maximising how you use it – and this includes being as efficient as possible and saving energy where you can. It’s not necessarily about spending a lot of money up front. There are smaller things you can do immediately and others that might take a bit more time. 

GridDuck has put together some of the easiest ways your business can start optimising its energy use now, based on our experience working with different SMEs across sectors. 

1) Conduct an Energy Audit  

Most businesses don’t know where to start with cutting back on big energy costs such as electricity because they don’t know what they are consuming. It follows that you need to break down your energy use, to show what you are using productively, what you are wasting, and what can be done about it. That’s the point of an audit. 

An extensive audit will take everything into account, to show you exactly what areas you need to target. This would include the buildings you use, as well as the fixtures, machines and equipment. While the focus is on making financial savings, an audit might take into account the operational side of things too. 

Audits will vary in cost, based on the size of your business and how detailed you want the information. While some people believe they aren’t essential, they are a key starting point to making some practical changes and getting your employees to change their behaviour.

2) Look At All Your Equipment and Machines 

If you’re not regularly checking and maintaining all the equipment at your business, it’s likely some of it will be draining energy and costing money. Equipment can include a huge range of things, from computers and kettles, to larger machines that use motors and filters. 

Some good practice includes: don’t leave equipment on standby; clean and replace air filters regularly; shut off motors during lunch breaks; listen for leaks; and check that you’re using the latest energy-efficient versions of fridges/freezers/microwaves, etc. 

While many of these tips are common sense, people often fall out of the habit of engaging in good behaviour. One way to keep your team on track is to involve them in your sustainability strategy. Make sure to keep employees updated and, if possible, incentivise them to meet targets. 

More sophisticated advice is to perform predictive maintenance activities. This refers to predicting equipment failures that might occur using real-time collection of data and analysis. Unlike prevention maintenance, you don’t need to regularly schedule checks and plan for costly downtime. 

3) Heating, Cooling and Lighting 

Heating and cooling are huge energy costs. In fact, heating is often the biggest energy cost in a workplace, accounting for nearly 40% of use in a non-domestic building. To bring these bills down, make sure your heater or boiler is up to date on its service, and that pipes, boilers and tanks are properly insulated. 

Smart thermostats and heating controls can help you automatically set the temperature to the lowest comfortable setting without intervention. Another tip is to only refrigerate what’s essential. We helped one chain of bars save energy and money by analysing how they used their drinks fridges. 

Lighting, meanwhile, is another easy win. Consider using motion sensor lighting, for example, and switching all your lights to LED ones. It’s estimated that LEDs are six times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. Another idea is to try repositioning workstations to get the maximum amount of natural light. 

4) Insulate

It might take a bit more upfront investment, but it’s worth looking at your insulation. Heat loss is a big source of waste in the UK. There are many online tools that will help you calculate how much heat is being lost, by measuring the dimensions of your room. 

If you don’t have the money to upgrade your insulation, think about identifying any source of draughts and sealing any gaps, particularly for colder months. In a typical home, about 35% of heating loss occurs through gaps and walls. A similar amount could be lost in older commercial buildings too.  

5) Conserve Water 

For any larger buildings, consider installing low-flow faucets, motion-activated fixtures, and dual-flush toilets. Check for leaks regularly, especially toilets. Waterwise estimates that 400m litres of water leak from UK toilets every single day. 

An advanced solution is to use a smart-water monitoring system to detect small leaks and automatically shut them off. Smart technology will also send alerts when a sudden surge in water use is detected. This type of technology collects data that gives an overall view of your consumption and will help your conservation efforts.

To save rainwater, install rain barrels that can collect roof runoff. These vary in size and price depending on their sophistication. 

6) Use a Smart Energy Management System 

We have mentioned using smart technology to help with heating and conserving water, but you could use a system that measures all your energy use and sends the data to a dashboard, giving you total control of your demand and consumption.

GridDuck has its own intelligent system for optimising energy, made especially for commercial buildings and businesses. We use easy-to-install sensors, clamps and switches to tell you what appliances, equipment and machines are consuming the most energy. 

We have also recently introduced comprehensive utility monitoring, enabling our clients to know their electricity, gas and water usage at a glance. This all-in-one solution for cutting back on utility waste works across sectors, including manufacturing, hospitality, the public sector, and agriculture. 

Want to know more? Get in touch with GridDuck to find out how we can help your business optimise energy today.