1. Reduce money spent on utilities
An obvious result of improving energy efficiency is that less energy is used and so utility bills are lower, but understanding how and when energy is used can also enable use to be scheduled for lower cost periods, e.g. pre-heating Hot Water using night rate electricity or using ventilation only for “night cooling” in place of full air-conditioning.
2. Avoid utility reinforcement costs
Understanding how and when energy is used can enable new plant to be installed which makes use of existing capacity at times when the existing plant is being used at reduced levels, avoiding the cost of upgrading supplies.
3. Reduce capital cost of replacement plant
When plant is being replaced it is always worth reviewing the required capacity and use. By incorporating energy efficient practices and upgrading installations or controls, it is often possible to install smaller plant at a lower cost, e.g. improved fabric insulation and reducing draughts can reduce boiler sizes.
4. Reduce CO2 emissions (reduce carbon footprint)
A number of organisations are publishing their carbon footprint or CO2 emissions as part of the general public awareness of Climate Change issues. Improving energy management will enable organisations to identify how the emissions are incurred and take steps to reduce them by either reduce energy use or using lower emission energy, e.g. Biomass boilers.
5. Improve environmental impact
Some organisations have an environmental responsibility to a wider audience or have to meet their customers expectations of energy use and some are given a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rating based on how they interact with their environment. Understanding how and when energy is used through improved energy management will enable all these organisations to take steps to reduce their impact and improve their rating.
6. Identify leaks
Improved understanding of how and when utilities are being used will improve the identification of leaks, e.g. if water use is monitored closely, leaks will show up as high consumption during periods of low occupancy or compressed air leaks will show up as high usage during periods of low production.
7. Encourage staff involvement
Most people like to be involved with the organisation they work for and delegation of energy management to the workforce enables them to make a positive contribution to their working environment, e.g. through the use of “Green Teams” to identify localised areas of waste.
8. Improve working conditions
One of the side effects of improving the control of energy use, e.g. by reducing over-heating or cold air ingress, is that the working environment is also improved. Waste heat from processes often leads to excessive local temperatures and improving the efficiency of the process will reduce this.
9. Understand utility cost allocations
Improved energy management will lead to a better understanding of how the energy is used within the site. In many cases, costs are allocated on an arbitrary “floor area” basis, even if some departments are more energy intensive than others, giving no incentive on those departments to improve their energy efficiency. Allocating energy costs on a more reflective basis can lead to more energy conscious investment, e.g. IT rooms are heavy users of energy and the use of more efficient equipment should be reflected in lower departmental costs.
10. Improve product quality
Product quality can be severely compromised by inefficient energy use, e.g. poor temperature control can ruin some products in a batch, and using the most efficient plant with accurate control can improve product consistency.
Our Haven Green Plan also includes a comprehensive energy advice service via our energy management partner. For those customers choosing Green energy from Haven our website includes a Green Customer Zone which includes an extensive range of energy and funding advice as well a free consultation with our energy management partner.