Energy Efficiency
general advice & tips

Give your business the edge by reducing costs and taking small steps in energy efficiency that could have a big impact on your energy costs.

Energy Efficiency top tips to get you on that road to reducing your costs:

Heating and Ventilation Savings

1. Never block radiators or any other heating surfaces
2. Match heating levels with building occupancy times
3. Ensure that air conditioning is never running at the same time as heating
4. Do not heat buildings above their required level
5. Fit radiators with thermostatic valves which are not controlled by an external system
6. Staff should been encouraged to close windows to minimise draughts when the heating system is active

Lighting Savings

1. Clean light fittings regularly
2. Increase the number of switches that service large banks of lights
3. Fit all outdoor lighting with photosensitive controls
4. Reduce lighting levels in little-used areas such as corridors and stores
5. Replace all tungsten filament bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs
6. Replace old ballasts with modern high frequency electronic ballasts
7. Consider fitting presence detectors to infrequently occupied areas

Office Equipment Savings

1. Switch off monitors at night and lunch times and shut down computers at the end of each working day
2. Turn off photocopiers every night
3. Place photocopiers outside of air-conditioned areas as they represent a considerable heat gain
4. Vending machines and water coolers should be turned off every night and at weekends
5. When purchasing office equipment consider the energy efficiency rating of the product

Refrigeration Savings

1. Check that there are no bubbles in the refrigerant sight glass and that the oil in sight glass is at its correct level
2. Make sure that no product is stacked near or in front of the evaporator as this obstructs the airflow
3. Evaporators should be checked to make sure they defrost properly
4. Assess the temperature in the store and make sure that the unit is not any colder than it needs to be
5. Minimise all heat sources such as lights and forklifts in the cold stores
6. Fit all dairy walls with night blinds

Boiler Savings

1. Clean and service your boiler regularly
2. Make sure that boilers and pilot lights are turned off when there is no demand for heating in work areas
3. Ventilate the boiler house adequately to ensure that there is enough air for combustion to take place efficiently
4. Consider the installation of an economiser to recover heat from the flue gases
5. Insulate all boilers as well as distribution pipes and valves
6. Fit sequencing controls where there is more than one boiler

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Energy efficiency information and advice for industry sectors:

Schools

Offices

Hotels

Retail

Buildings

Supermarket