With recent rises in business energy prices, and government help for businesses soon coming to an end, a Newcastle-based energy assessment expert is providing helpful energy saving advice.
Building compliance and energy assessment experts, Green Zone Surveys, is offering handy tips to try and use less energy and save on your business energy bills.
Saving energy in your kitchen
With energy prices continuing to rise, this will have a knock-on effect on businesses’ wallets, but there are measures to take to try and use less energy.
The kitchen is where the most energy is used regularly – coffee breaks, lunch breaks – which means there are a range of measures you can take to reduce the amount of energy you’re using.
- Use a combi microwave. Rather than having a microwave and an oven, use a combination microwave that’s smaller size means its heat is directly focused on food, and therefore is quicker and more efficient to use.
- Clean and defrost your fridge/freezer regularly. Clean both inside and behind your fridge and freezer to keep them cool and working efficiently. It’s also important to remember to defrost your fridge and freezer regularly so they don’t use any more energy than necessary.
- Clean your hob rings. Make sure that if you have a hob in your kitchen, that you clean the heating rings regularly. Any build up on the rings will absorb heat, making the rings less efficient at heating and more energy intensive.
- Ensure your fridge door is sealed. If needed, repair any fridge door seals to make sure that warm air from the room isn’t getting into the fridge. If this is the case, the fridge will need to work harder to keep the interior at the right temperature.
- Fill your dishwasher before use. If you have a dishwasher, only start the cycle once it is full. A half load uses the same amount of energy as a full load, so waiting until it’s full means you will save on electricity and hot water by doing fewer washes. Be careful not to overload the dishwasher, though, as it dishes won’t get a proper clean.
Using energy audits to identify cost-saving opportunities
According to Green Zone Surveys, businesses can also potentially offset rising costs and become more energy efficient, through implementing the recommendations in a commercial energy audit.
Conducting a commercial energy audit can identify opportunities to reduce energy use, lower carbon emissions and save money, by offering recommendations and allowing businesses to make informed decisions on what changes need to be made.
Technical Manager, Ben Palmer, said: “Energy audits can reveal areas where energy is being used inefficiently, which could lead to significant cost savings of up to 17%, on average, each year.
“How much energy and where it is consumed is not static year on year, and an energy audit can show where changes have occurred and if a business has improved or reduced their consumption.”
An audit can also help to determine how to best invest in energy-efficiency technologies, such as LED lighting, energy-efficient plant and equipment, or energy monitoring systems.
Green Zone Surveys (UK) Ltd can provide Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 energy audits, using their revolutionary audit software GreenAudit, in compliance with the methodology outlined in with ISO 50002 or BS EN 16247: 2012.
As one of the UK’s longest established providers of building and energy compliance surveys, Green Zone has been there since the beginning and has worked alongside businesses of all different sizes in a variety of industries. This means you can breathe easy knowing you are working with professional, industry experts who have the knowledge and experience to guide you through the full compliance process.
Find out more: www.greenzonesurveys.com