Energy costs are rising, what can I do for my business to reduce my costs?

With energy prices rising, bills are inevitably going to go up too. The only choice out there is to try and mitigate against the inevitable escalation in bills.

One way to help is to reduce the energy we use up front to keep overheads down – turn off standby appliances, switch lights off when out the room, reduce the heating temperature, insulate well, buy energy efficient appliances etc.

This is all well and good, but what do we do as a business when we have covered all these bases but still have the additional burden of a high energy use operation? Reliance on fossil fuels alone is an eye-watering overhead for many businesses with a production process. It also pricks at the conscience when we consider the carbon we are creating in our already stifled atmosphere.

So, how do we avoid these exorbitant costs when we are operating a production process 24/7?
We can’t switch off or even reduce as doing that lowers productivity and output. It remains an ever-increasing cost eating away at profits and drip feeding directly into the bank account of a utility provider.

There is another way, however, and it may not be an obvious one….

We have all heard of heat pumps, whether it be ground, air or water, we have seen solar arrays on the roofs and likely watched wind turbines turning as we drive along the motorway, but there is a lesser-known relative that offers businesses a cost-effective heating and power solution with a more carbon friendly credential to traditional systems.

A Combined Heat & Power, or CHP system, provides simultaneous heat and power with significantly more efficiency than fossil fuel-hungry counterparts. A CHP engine generates power which is converted into usable electricity, whilst heat is simultaneously recovered from the exhaust to be used for a variety of process or heating applications. The CHP system uses a single fuel source, such as natural gas, LPG, biogas, or even hydrogen, when available.

The CHP system can reduce fossil fuel requirements by generating electricity locally and efficiently onsite and also reducing overall costs by between 30 and 50%. They are incredibly clever pieces of kit and can boast overall efficiency of up to an impressive 85%. Not only that, due to these money saving credentials, they have a project return on investment of just 1 – 5 years dependent on the system and its uses. They are an ideal hassle-free installation for high energy use businesses, who will see their overhead costs plummet with the annual cost savings.

Sounds too good to be true? We assure you it’s not. It is just a clever way of re-thinking how we make energy work for us with the innovative technology we have designed to do it. Like our name – Calibrate Energy Engineering – suggests, we are experts in this and provide a full assessment of your needs in order to identify the best system for your business.

It costs nothing to get in touch to find out more, but it costs the earth to do nothing…

TOP TIPS FOR REDUCING ENERGY USE IN BUSINESSES

  • Alternative Technology – for example switch to a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) or Ground Source Heat Pump system to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels thus reducing your carbon footprint, as well as saving on costs.
  • Turn off – lights or heating when not in use, even set timers to ensure this happens
  • Reduce – turn down the heating dial just one degree can make a significant difference
  • Insulate – stopping all the warm air getting out of a building is one of the best preventative measures
  • Use A rated appliances
  • Create an energy reduction culture – everyone can play a part in reducing energy costs and every little helps!