crc Archives - Gebs Energy Management

Social Landlords: Simplified Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (RHI)

Changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Changes to the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (RHI) have recently been announced. The adjustments have the capacity to remove the barriers to energy efficiency upgrades for some of the most vulnerable consumers in the country.

RHI is a financial incentive scheme encouraging and promoting the installation of heating systems that use naturally replenished energy. It is expected that it will help the UK reduce its carbon emissions and is applicable for both Non- Domestic and Domestic Buildings.

From Spring 2015

From Spring 2015 registered Social Landlords will be able to apply for the RHI Scheme if they have an Energy Performance Certificate which is less than 2 years old. There will no longer be a requirement for a Green Deal Assessment if this criteria is fulfilled.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) states that the reasoning behind the changes is that ‘Social landlords often provide homes for some of the most vulnerable people and by making the RHI more accessible, tenants will enjoy warmer homes and lower bills’.

What’s In It For Me?

The RHI will pay the following tariffs per unit, for energy generated, over the next 7 years.

Technology	Tariff
Air-source heat pumps	7.3p/kWh
Ground and water-source heat pumps	18.8p/kWh
Biomass-only boilers and biomass pellet stoves with integrated boilers	12.2p/kWh
Solar thermal panels (flat plate and evacuated tube for hot water only)	19.2 p/kWh

Source UK gov.uk – Updated Nov 2014

Goodbye Oil, Hello Renewable Energy

The DECC says that 365,000 people live in fuel poverty and a further 2.28 million are in fuel-poor households. A large percentage of those who struggle with fuel costs live in ‘off the gas grid’ properties, relying on oil and electricity to heat their homes.

Additionally, many of these households have to pay up-front fuel costs, through pre-payment electricity meters or oil deliveries. Removing the need for a Green Deal Assessment paves the way for homes to be made warmer and lower heating costs for some of the most vulnerable people.

Barriers to change

Landlords in the rental sector both domestic and non-domestic are still somewhat reluctant to embrace energy efficiency, due to the perceived cost of upfront investment required. A large percentage of the UK rented housing stock is still Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Rated E-G. Private and Commercial tenants often do not have the influence or the appetite to push for property efficiency improvements. There is a thought that if they rock the boat they will be asked to leave. On the other hand, understandably, Landlords think ‘what’s the benefit to me?’ and so do ‘just enough’. Whilst there are many exceptional landlords out there, who understand the importance of energy efficiency in their properties, there are still as many who need to need to be persuaded.

Simplified RHI Funding

Making the RHI funding and improvement process simpler, at least in the Domestic rented sector, should mean only good things for the tenant, the landlord’s property portfolio and the UK’s Carbon Emissions targets.

Energy Management: Don’t just pay the bill

We don’t make mistakes

Last week I was told by an employee at a local college, as they dealt with a query for me, that they had been ‘doing the job for 10 years and don’t make mistakes’. The person in question was quite happy that I speak with their manager, also was a long term fixture, as they would verify that no error had been made.

As it happened, and to my relief, they had made a poor call by treating my problem as ‘business as usual’ and not taking the time to understand my more unusual situation.

Never presume you know the answer to the question

In fact it wasn’t ‘business as usual’ but new circumstances arising out of very recent changes. After a bit of a tense time, the problem was eventually resolved. In future I hope they listen a little more carefully, adapt their processes to ensure up to date information and training for the appropriate people, but also do not presume they know what the answer is before properly understanding the question.

Traditional Energy Management vs Fresh Eyes

In a similar vein, most of us have been managing our energy in the traditional format for many years. We are very competent at paying the bills when they arrive, have environmental and production plant serviced regularly and ensure life-cycle upgrades, and replace equipment with more energy efficient models as the need arises. But complacency, a lack of current-thinking awareness or a bigger-picture view may still hinder our opportunities to maximise our consumption savings.

For example, in the more customary approach one person within the organisation may have responsibility for environmental comfort, the buildings integrity and the maintenance of the HVAC equipment. There might be someone else responsible for the effectiveness of plant and production technologies. In addition to others ensuring the bills are paid and the plant replaced at the end of its life-cycle.

Integrated Energy Management – Maximise the savings

Whilst not being the wrong way to manage energy, this is not necessarily the most efficient way. A fresh approach to ensure that your business maximises its energy savings and minimises its costs and overheads could be to adopt a more integrated and informed stance:

Don’t just pay your energy bill, understand it – kWh’s, capacity charge, standing charge, per unit cost (and applicable times and rates).
Track your half-hourly data usage, understand your minimum and maximum consumption periods
Understand who are your significant users and consumers
Identify and track back on unnecessary consumption spikes
Report your findings to the Operations Managers and Building Services Managers. So they can take steps to minimise wastage or, when appropriate, justify consumption peaks
Ensure your procurement people understand that energy efficiency is a valid reason to replace older equipment, especially if the payback period can be improved by energy consumption savings
Procurement should also understand your supply contracts. Being out-of-contract with your energy supplier can be a very costly slip.
Listen to your Building Services Managers when they ask for service contracts or remedial repair work to the building. It may seem a ‘nice to have’ but they know that this will save the business money in the short, medium and long-term.

Energy Management don’t just do what you’ve always done

The fact is, Energy Management isn’t something we have had to think about too much before, it was always a fixed and fairly affordable cost and, as such, has been done the same way for many, many years. Whilst we haven’t been doing it badly, the rules out there have changed; so ensure that your business has not been left behind, has listened to and clearly understood the new challenges.

Gebs Energy can provide a free energy management health check for your business, email us on info@gebsenergy.co.uk to see whether you are ‘business as usual’ or using energy management as a competitive advantage.

Good Energy Habits and Savings Begin With Observation

Take a Good Look, It Might Just Save You Money

Many of us spend at least 40 hours, 5 days a week at our place of work. That might be an office, school, hospital, warehouse, factory, shop etc. Day in, day out, we traipse to and from our desks and workstations, with our thoughts on what we did the evening before, the children, our partners, plans for the weekend, the rotten journey or parking situation.

We may be thinking about the weather and probably what is in store for us in the day ahead. Lots going on mentally in the journey but when was the last time we actually considered the physical site we work in?

What Might You See?

It is fascinating to look at the actual premises with a purpose in mind. It can provide vital clues and quick fixes to help reduce our energy costs. So for a change, on any day, take a step back and really look at the building, you will probably see, at least one or more of the following:

Lights on in empty spaces or on a bright day
Windows open whether it is a hot or cold day and often despite
aircon or heating
External doors left or propped open
Fire Exits propped open
Loading bay doors propped open
Skylights and windows dirty
Windows and doors, ill fitting or broken
External walls with holes in them
Air-con units covered in dirt and debris
Security Lights stuck ‘on’ in broad daylight
Pipes dripping

Every Kilowatt Hour Counts

Whilst there may only be a few of the above list which are relevant to your particular place of work, any of these examples can account for wasted kWh, which equals unnecessary cost and carbon tax. If you are a multi-site business, and if this is replicated across your organisation, then the cost to your business will naturally increase proportionately.

Switch Off – Turn Off

A simple solution to help minimise unplanned energy consumption is to put in place basic shut down and close down routines. Our businesses will benefit from each and every employee following a ‘switch-off, turn-off’ plan at the end of their day, operations permitting.

To ensure that it given the necessary importance, it can be embedded within an individual’s role and responsibilities. Energy ownership can be as prescriptive as required, especially if that individual has responsibility for large consuming processes. However, in most cases, a general statement about energy management is sufficient.

End of Day Routines Make a Difference

Expanding this idea, we have found that including a walk-round routine at the end of the day, by a designated individual who can observe and note unnecessary consumption, works very well. They might take steps to eliminate it there and then or, if it is more complex, start the process of a review leading to consumption reduction.

Take Action, Don’t Ignore It

Mind you, there has to be a robust and timely action and resolution process in place. I’m sure we can all agree that there is nothing more frustrating and disheartening than identifying a problem, using the formal reporting process as has been requested, then waiting weeks before the problem is rectified, if at all. Imagine how annoying and disheartening it would be a person in one part of your building to be continuously having to turn off lights in another part of the building because those in the relevant Department are wilfully ignoring the company line without consequence.

Good Energy Habits and Savings Begin With Observation

Good Energy saving habits begin with observation, how are we currently wasting our resources? Where are we wasting it? What can we do differently? Observation is free and can be done by everyone and, if it is, then energy saving becomes everyone’s responsibility. In summary when energy consumption is owned by the individual then more kWh are saved.

Are We Prepared For Our Energy Winter?

Winter 2012 -2013

The harvest this year has been a late one around our offices. After an unexpectedly long, wet and cold winter, which started in late August 2012 and ran through relentlessly until June 2013, the farmers locally have just finished combining and bringing in their bailed straw and wheat. I think last year’s protracted Winter-conditions took them by surprise, just like the rest of us.

Every scrap of stored hay and straw in the barns adjacent to us was used for animal feed and bedding, even the old and very poor quality stuff that had laid there for years to plug holes in the barn sides. Towards the end of the winter, the farmhands were even sweeping up the loose bits on the floor of the barn. There was also a marked increase in the cost of hay and straw, due to the gradually reducing supply and inevitable increased demand.

Be Prepared

This year, it looks like the livestock holders are prepared for the worst. More fields have been bailed, rather than ploughed-under, and our barns are now stuffed to the edges with bedding and feed stores.

Taken Our Energy Supply for Granted?

By comparison have we, in our businesses, been complacent and taken for granted our energy supply? For many years we have used our gas, electricity and oil with little thought to the on-going cost or the fact that it is a finite resource. But have we made enough hay whilst the sun shone?

Energy Winter

Our businesses have, metaphorically at least, also presumed upon a short winter and adequate supplies of hay. Increasingly though, Experts and Authorities believe that we are now at the beginning of our ‘Energy Winter’ and its going to be a long one.

Dwindling Resources, Increased Demand

The global demands on already dwindling resources are being increased as the standard of living and industrialisation rises elsewhere in the world. That’s where the analogy fails us. The energy barn is big, but it is not infinite and there is no foreseeable “new harvest” coming through, no chance to correct the failed assumptions of the previous year.

Too Late To Take Control?

With this in mind, are we too late to take control and mitigate those increasing kWh costs? The answer has to be a resounding No! Rather than a desperate floundering scatter-gun approach to managing consumption though, we need to be considered and plan our energy management strategy, make realistic changes to our working practices, understand how, when and why we use our energy, monitor and create energy targets and objectives, start forecasting and planning consumption, steering clear of knee jerk spending but making sure energy usage is relevant and applicable to all.

Understand, Plan Forecast & Prioritise

Understanding the business’ consumption patterns, measuring and monitoring your usage, allows the business to forecast and plan energy requirements based on variables such as the outside temperatures or degree days, your workflow, to name but a few, all relevant to the organisation. This will allow the organisation to prioritise and minimise usage and consumption at times of unexpected need and unplanned necessity.

Energy Management – Why are those first steps so hard?

Procrastination – Fear of Failing?

The hardest part of every report I write is the beginning. It is the first paragraph which causes me the most difficulty. Although many of our findings are common across our client’s businesses, that first paragraph has to be relevant and cause the reader to want to read on. Starting it is also the time when I tend to procrastinate or delay, I might decide that moment is a good time to catch up with my filing, check the web-feeds for Energy Efficiency news, do the office washing up and dare I say it I even log into Facebook, anything rather than sit down and make a start on that report.

I do sit down though and I do force myself to write those sentences; as one of my MBA Lecturers said, once you’ve made a start on that first paragraph the words will flow.

It is easy to do the same with any problem or challenge but the solution tends to be the same. If we look at Energy Management. We all acknowledge that rising prices are a problem and that there’s things our business really needs to do about it. We also, if we think about our consumption, probably have a pretty good idea where and how in the organisation it is being wasted. So why are we procrastinating and leaving things as they are?

Why Don’t We Manage Our Energy?

Some of the reason’s we’ve been given for not tackling energy efficiency are

‘surely my PC/lights/phonecharger being left on won’t make a difference’

‘you don’t understand our business, it’s not that progressive’

‘the board aren’t interested’

‘we have so many other initiatives and processes, we don’t have time for Energy Management’

‘but I’m too hot / cold normally’ (dependent on the weather)

‘we might upset the ladies upstairs’

‘the ladies get cold’

‘the ladies are of a certain age’ (ladies seem to get the blame an awful lot when it comes down to office temperature)

‘we don’t have the time’

‘we started it but no-one was interested so we don’t do it any more’

Energy Management, Not Extra, Just DIfferent

Often the simplest explanation is that businesses don’t know where to start the task of managing their energy consumption. Like getting the first words down in the paragraph it is easier to focus on something else rather than grasp the nettle and get on with it. Energy Management does not have to be ‘extra’ work, but it does mean doing things differently and smarter. It doesn’t mean your office has to be too warm/cold or uncomfortable for ‘ladies of a certain age’ – it just gives you control.

Gain Control, Make Savings

Once you have control and energy consumption transparency you will start to make savings; which the Board should be interested in because it reduces overheads and tax liabilities and, given that the phone charger left on is probably one of many within the organisation, the new routines will show clearly that switching of unnecessary equipment will make a difference.

Get Started, See Results

Finally once you get started, the results of your endeavours will drive the programme forward and the fear of failing will be replaced with the satisfaction that you are making a difference.