Searching for ways to reduce energy consumption with a business should be high on the priority list of every management board – however this often isn’t the case. Whether due to time constraints, lack of resource, or even lack of understanding – the opportunities for saving energy are often overlooked.

While most businesses will know that ideally they should be ‘going green’, sometimes it’s difficult to understand what benefits would be brought into a company by implementing an energy saving strategy.

So, here are 7 stats that every business should know about saving energy, which will highlight just how important saving energy can be – and importantly, how much you could realistically save.

1 – Heating costs increase by around 8% for every 1 degree increase

Keep it down!

On days where it’s cold in the office, it can be tempting for you, and your employees to ramp up the temperature on the thermostat. One degree can’t make that much difference right? Wrong.

Your heating costs will increase by around 8% for every 1 degree increase. Turning the thermostat down by 2 degrees, has the potential to save you £140 on a £1000 bill – so keep it down, and maybe keep a jumper in the office.

2 – Insulating pipework can reduce energy losses by 70%

Uninsulated pipework can be a significant source of heat loss and wasted energy (therefore, wasted money). By not insulating your pipework, you have an uncontrollable heat source which will take heat away from the areas that you really need it.

Ensuring that your pipes are properly insulated can reduce your energy losses by up to 70% - that isn’t a statistic that can be ignored.

3 – 46% of electricity in businesses is used outside of standard operating hours

How much money, and energy, could you be saving if you could reduce the above figure of 46%, to 0%?

Office equipment – computers, printers and kitchen appliances, or your machinery if you’re a manufacturer can be big energy users. Making sure that any equipment that doesn’t need to be left on overnight – or at weekends - is actually switched off could have a large reduction on your energy usage and bills. Reducing your energy use by 46% could make a significant impact on your bottom line – just think about where you could reinvest any money that you’d be saving.

4 – Leaving equipment on standby costs £1 a year for every watt of electricity used

Following on from the point above, leaving equipment on standby could make up a large proportion of your electricity usage and therefore your bills.

While £1 a year for every watt of electricity used doesn’t sound like much, it really all adds up. And this is an area where you could easily make a saving, you just need to make sure that your employees or colleagues switch off their equipment at the end of the day (or when it isn’t in use).

5 – Replacing your boiler could save you up to 30% on your bills

Sometimes, boilers are just old – there doesn’t have to be anything wrong with them as such, they can just be old and less efficient than what they once were. For instance, a non-condensing boiler with limited controls will be up to 30% less efficient than more modern boilers – so replacing your boiler, could help you to make that saving.

6 – An engineering firm is now saving 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year after implementing a switch it off scheme

So far this blog post has been very much about how much money you could save by taking certain measures, but that isn’t all that saving energy is about. It’s about helping the environment and the world in the fight against climate change – if every business played their small part, the benefits would be significant.

Saving 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year, just from implementing a switch it off scheme is considerable, and every Managing Director should take a lead on their corporate social responsibility and strive their business to meet sustainability goals.

7 – Installing renewable energy technology could save you more than all of the above

When we say ‘save’ you more than all of the above, we don’t just mean money.

While installing a form of renewable energy technology has the potential to reduce, or even eliminate your energy bills, it can also do a lot more for your business than that.

Renewable energy can enhance your brand by showing your consumers that you’re committed to doing your part for the environment, which is increasingly important in a world where consumers are becoming more ethically aware.

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