Commercial sites consume a lot of energy, that is unavoidable. Whether it’s an office building, a warehouse or a large site with multiple buildings, you can’t prevent the fact that you will need to use it – however, you can take steps to reduce energy usage.
Energy is expensive, and prices only continue to rise, which means it is vital for businesses to avoid wasting more energy than is necessary, as wasted energy is wasted money! However, there is also another very important reason that you should reduce energy usage in your commercial building.
Save Energy, Save Money, Save the Environment
While cutting costs is obviously a strong motivator for an organisation trying to be as profitable as possible, the movement toward Net-Zero should be an even stronger one.
The UK Government has made a commitment to become ‘Net-Zero’ by 2050, which means that, as a nation, we the total greenhouse gas emissions that we put into the atmosphere are equal to or less than the amount of emissions we remove from it.
This means that all UK based businesses will need to do their part and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. Therefore, when we give you tips for how to reduce energy consumption and save some money, it’s rooted in sustainability and supporting the environment!
So, let’s get into some tips!
How to Reduce Energy Usage on your Commercial Site
Monitor & Analyse Your Energy Usage
The first, and potentially most important, step you’ll need to take to address your energy improvement strategy is to properly understand what you’re using. Through the use of Advanced sub-metering technology, you can monitor your energy consumption and not only see the real-time usage of energy, but also the split of what energy you’re using, as well as an asset-by-asset breakdown of energy use.
If your site spends an extortionate amount of money on gas, but relatively little on electricity – or vice versa – you will know which of our upcoming tips to follow first!
You can go one step further and get a Building Management System (BMS), which will not only allow you to monitor the energy usage in real-time, but can be set up to optimise your systems by automatically adjusting in energy usage, so that your building uses what it needs to, and no more.
If you aren’t sure on what you think is an appropriate amount of energy, don’t know how best to utilise your BMS System, or you’re just in need of some general guidance, we can support you. FMS can provide a free, no-obligation Energy Survey to evaluate your site and identify areas for improvement.
Secure your free energy survey today!
At Facilities Management Solutions, our goal is to support our clients with the optimisation of how they run their site in whatever way we can. One of the ways that we can do that is by surveying their site and identifying room for improvement. These can sometimes just involve a simple walk around of the site, but we offer specific surveys, too.
We can provide free Energy Surveys for our clients, where we will investigate the energy-efficiency of the building and provide recommendations on how you could cut your energy usage and reduce costs for your organisation.
Fill in the form below to book in your free, no-obligation energy survey today!
An Efficient, Well-Maintained Heating System
Heating is the biggest source of energy usage in non-domestic buildings in the UK, accounting for around half of all energy used, which means the efficiency of your heating system is paramount when addressing your overall consumption.
First things first, the best way to cut down your energy consumption for heating is to retain the heat in your building. The worst thing you can do is have your boiler running on full tilt, while the heat escapes! This can be achieved by wall and roof insulation, which will reduce the amount of cold from outside that gets in, while retaining the warmth that your radiators, AHU or Air Conditioning system are producing.
Double or Triple Glazed Windows are also an effective way to retain heat, but they come with the added benefit that when it comes to summer, they also reduce the heat gain, which can also reduce the energy and costs associated with Air Conditioning.
In addition to all of these heat retention tips, it’s also important to make sure that your boiler(s) and the rest of the heating system itself are well-maintained and regularly serviced. This will keep them running smoothly and prevent wasted energy due to inefficient appliances.
Energy Saving Lighting
The second biggest use of energy is likely the electricity used on your internal lighting. Fortunately, this is something that you can upgrade easily, if you haven’t already, to cut down on your electric bill.
Upgrading to LED Lights across your commercial building is a great place to start, as they use under 25% of the energy the older traditional bulbs! Increasing the energy efficiency by this much can provide significant energy savings over time, but there’s still even more room for improvement.
Adding Automatic Light Sensors can even further improve the savings, by turning the lights off when they’re not needed. These are best implemented in rooms which will likely not be occupied for the majority of the day, like Meeting Rooms, bathrooms and kitchen spaces.
Making good use of natural light can also have an impact over time, by not turning on lights when there’s no need for them. This will be very situational, but every little helps!
Solar Panels & Solar Canopies
One of the most well-known steps that organisations who are conscious of their energy usage and their greenhouse gas emissions is that they install Solar PV on their roof. This is an incredibly effective way to offset some of your energy usage, as it allows you to generate some of your own electricity, before you go buying it.
This will save you money but also prevents the need for natural gases to be used to create electricity, which is what contributes to emissions. Plus, if your roof isn’t appropriate for panels, or if you have an ideal car park for it, you can install Solar Canopies over the parking spaces outside your building. These canopies work just like a panel would on your roof, but they also give your staff’s vehicles some shade, too.
While it’s not the cheapest method for cutting down your costs long-term, the savings you’ll make are substantial, and the sooner you opt for Solar Panels, the sooner they’ll pay for themselves!
Funding and Subsidised Energy Efficiency Upgrades
If you like the sound of some of these suggestions, but funding is an issue and you don’t feel your organisation can afford to make the upgrades that you’d like to, there could be another way!
As we all come together to achieve Net-Zero, there is funding available to support businesses in making their site more energy efficient and cut down your energy usage with upgrades like Solar Panels, that may be expensive, but will have a huge impact on the greenhouse gas emissions of the building. You may not be able to experience the huge financial savings yourself if you have the project subsidised, but the environment will see all the benefits!
If this sounds good to you, Facilities Management Solutions can support you through the entire process, we’ll arrange the funding, go through all the paperwork and organise the project for you, all through one single point of contact! We’ll make the process simple for you, all you need to do is reach out to us. You can do so via the enquiry form above.
Facilities Management Solutions is the perfect local partner for all your building management requirements, thanks to our expert team who provide reliable support, all through one point of contact. We can help you to significantly reduce energy usage on your site. Whether you already know exactly what you want or need us to recommend a strategy going forward, you’re in good hands.
If you want to arrange a free, no-obligation energy survey, so that we can evaluate the best way forward for your business, fill in the enquiry form above.
Alternatively, if you’d like to reach out directly, call us on 01908 034040 or drop an e-mail to info@fmsolutions.co.uk
