energy waste Archives - Gebs Energy Management

Fuel Poverty and Food Bank Link

The UK has one of the highest levels of housing costs in Europe, while between 2010 and 2013 energy prices for households rose by 37 per cent. This has, according to The Trussell Trust been a major contributing factor to households going hungry and are frequently turning to FoodBank.

Turn2us, a service that helps people with financial difficulties, state that two-fifths or 40% of low income households and nearly half, 47%, of people with disabilities who are on low incomes have had to cut back on food or skip meals, because of difficulties with paying energy bills  - (Turn2us’ Fuel Poverty campaign 2014, a survey of low income households).

Day to Day Living Costs Rise While Wages Fall

Managing energy consumption is increasingly being recognised by business as a necessity but it is equally crucial at home, where rent, mortgage, utility costs, food and general day-to-day living costs have been rising. Meanwhile wages, in real terms, have been at best stagnating and at worst reducing.

Many councils and housing associations have been pro-active and recognised that their tenants are vulnerable and have implemented housing stock energy efficiency improvements, such as cavity wall insulation, UPVC window replacement, upgrades of heating and water systems. In some cases they have taken advantage of the financial incentives in place and installed Solar PV for power or Solar Thermal to heat the water. However not all householders are in this position, they may own their own properties, privately rent or just haven’t had the helping-hand of a council or Housing Association energy efficiency programme.

How much does my Appliance cost me in a year?

What can be done? Well, control and measurement can have a significant impact – reduce your consumption and reduce your costs. However, if you don’t know what you are using, you can’t take effective steps to reduce and prioritise consumption. By measuring, the consumer can make decisions on usage based on how much it might cost.

The table below shows Average consumption of Typical Rated Equipment and Appliances.

*To calculate the cost of usage, multiply the number of units by the per Unit Cost and/or Standing Charge per Unit Cost* *1 Unit = 1 Kilowatt Hour (kWh)*
Kitchen/Utility Room Appliances	Average Unit Consumption per day/per session/per annum
Freezer	About 1 to 1.5 Units per day
Fridge/Freezer	About 1.5 Units per day
Fridge	Less than 1 Unit per day
Dish washer – one full load	About 1.5 Units
Tumble dryer – full load of cottons	About 3.5 Units
Tumble dryer – full load of synthetics	About 2 Units
Washing machine – cottons @ 60C	About 1 Unit
Washing machine – synthetics 40C	Less than 1 Unit
Cooker & hob	1.5 Units average per day
Kettle	1 Unit per 12 pints boiling water
Microwave (850W) 20 mins on full	Less than 0.5 Units per day
Toaster	1 Unit per 60 slices of toast
Other Appliances
Electric blanket	Less than 1 unit, for approximately 1.5 hrs a night for a week
Extractor fan	1 to 2 units per 24 hrs
Hair dryer (500w)	1 Unit per 10/12 Min sessions
Iron	0.5 to 1 unit per hr

Energy Management First Steps – Simple Energy Audit

What to consider in a DIY Energy Audit

A simple and useful Energy Audit is a good start to bring together all factors to give you a clear picture of how you consume your energy within your organisation. It’s a bit like being a detective and will identify the Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to your organisational energy consumption. What you will need to ascertain is:

What Energy is being used at the site
Meter Readings
Site Plans/Building Layout
Location of Sub Meters, Plant Room
Who are the main consumers of Energy (if known)
A list of main plant and equipment, lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and age
What Control Systems are in place
What temperature are your thermostats set to?

Does Energy Consumption Match Day To Day Operations?

If your business is not currently recording and monitoring energy usage you may be able to obtain half-hourly consumption data from your energy supplier. This can show clearly how the energy is being used and from this you can define your optimum required consumption based on occupancy levels or operating shifts and minimise consumption spikes and sporadic uncontrolled energy usage. To maximise the integrity of the data and analysis you will need to know:

Half Hourly consumption data and sub- metering info (where applicable)
The staffing levels for the period, working hours or shift patterns
An understanding of the day to day operations
If available, historical weather conditions and bank-holiday/seasonal shut down dates.

Take a look at the Building

Understanding the building and the management of the in-situ environmental plant, is also crucial to a decent audit. What is the age of the building and is it maintained in good condition. Consider the condition and controls of the environmental plant. The older the systems and the built form for example, then the less energy efficient it will be. Or, if your building has ill- fitting doors or windows, damaged insulation on hot water carrying pipework, possibly single glazing, holes in the external walls and poor insulation then your energy costs will be higher.

Are the Environmental Plant and Controls in Good Condition?

This also applies with the environmental plant, if it isn’t serviced regularly and is as installed in the building on day 1 of operations then the amount of energy consumed, against the benefits to the occupants will be greatly reduced. Just ask yourself, just how many layers of paint are on those radiators and how may room thermostats are sitting next to the print-centre or over a heat source. A simple tip at the end of the day if anything is buzzing, hissing, bleeping, glowing or flashing it is often consuming unnecessary power.

What about Air-Flow?

Also think about air-flow, often we feel think we’re lethargic and tired due to being hot. Often we have seen that it is because air flow has been interrupted within the premises. Over the years, partitions for meeting rooms and offices may have been installed which has blocked the free flow of fresh air.

Speak To The People

Also speak with the employees often they know where energy can be saved because they work with it day to day. Their behaviours and housekeeping impact energy consumption massively, there is a train of thought that most buildings are energy efficient until you introduce people. The users also know that, really, the setting they may have on their workstation is always ‘in that position’ not because it is the most efficient setting but because ‘they can’t be bothered to adjust it’ or waste the time ‘turning it on or off’.

Simple Steps = Savings

If you start your energy auditing journey with these simple considerations, you will start to take control of your consumption and start making measurable reductions. It is a key part of the strong foundations for a robust energy management system and can provide meaningful data for a more in-depth and detailed study which will return more substantial consumption savings and carbon reduction.

Make Simple Changes, Save Money on your Domestic Energy Utility Bill – We Have!

Changing how we use our domestic electricity saved £278

Today we found out that we’d saved £278 pounds on our domestic quarterly energy bill through changing the way we use it within our home. We live in a property which does not have mains gas. We don’t have oil and instead run our heating and water from an Air-Source heat pump. Whilst this technology is deemed energy efficient it is certainly more costly to run than with a Ground-source Heat-Pump as we don’t have solar thermal or solar PV as an to generate electricity or provide hot water.

Don’t just change tariff

We have been in the property for 2½ years, it is a 500 year old barn conversion and has a high standard of insulation and glazing. However our monthly electric bill was still £555pcm. We have taken steps to fix our energy prices but are keenly aware that the price we are paying now will most likely be increased when we renegotiate our terms and conditions in 12 months and we wanted to see how much energy we could save and what, more importantly, the impact would be on our purses.

Steps to save domestic energy

We decided that we would put into practice what we preach and start to change the way were using the energy at home, so what did we do?

We turned the heating off in rooms which are unoccupied – if we have visitors we will turn the heating back on, it only takes an hour for it to get up to temperature
We turned unnecessary lights of – our home no longer looks like the titanic beaming out over the dark Bedfordshire countryside.
We heat the house to temperature in the early hours – our heating system is like a large storage heater, it is designed to release its heat throughout the day. So we heat the required rooms between 3am and 6am, when electricity is cheap.
We adjusted the room thermostats to reflect times of occupancy. We have programmed a boost period for those rooms where we spend most time in the evenings (sitting room and sons’ bedrooms) No longer is our thermostat programmed to heat the room from 4pm to 9pm, it is set to warm when we are in the room and switch off an hour before we go to bed.
We reduced the room-stat temperatures by between 1 and 3 degrees. Our halls are now heated at 19 Degree’s which is perfectly adequate, not to mention our boys’ rooms are set at 2 degrees cooler since they have the normal teenager electronic gadgetry in there which increases the temperature in their room space.
We put Hot Water on once a day – we get our hot water through an immersion heater. It now comes on once a day between 4am and 6am when it is time for cheap electricity. If we want a shower we manually switch on the hot water system, it takes about 15 mins to get to temperature.
We invested in draft excluders. This stops the warmth escaping through the external doors. We have also used them to seal bottom of the internal doors in empty rooms, to stop cold air escaping and hot air leaking in.
We now ensure all appliances, except for fridges and freezers, are switched off at the mains at night.
We shut the curtains at night, they act as a barrier for heat escaping through the glass.
10. We bought family onesies! – who needs heating when you’ve got your Wolf, Monkey, Skeleton or Reindeer all-in-one?

Energy savings, equal 20% of bill, don’t ‘worry’ make the change.

So over a 3 month period we have saved just under 20% of our house hold energy bill through changing our behaviour. Our own Gebs Energy Survey showed that, despite recent energy price increases and growing concern, most of our respondents had not taken any steps to reduce the way they consumed energy in their homes. Using our experience as an example we can honestly say there are some great savings to be had.

If you don’t do any other Energy Management, do this – it will save you money!

Ask for your consumption data from your Energy Supplier

The simplest and most basic way to begin to manage your energy consumption is to monitor your usage levels from your meter readings. Many business premises will have a meter which sends consumption data to your supplier. Requesting your data from them will allow you to identify your average consumption patterns, your lowest running rate and your highest kWh consumption. More importantly, it will allow you to identify where energy is being wasted. For example, if the heating or cooling is operating outside of work hours, or plant has been left running on high when production is at its lowest, then it will be identifiable through the consumption data. Whilst gas suppliers can currently give us a daily overview, data direct from your electricity supplier is more useful, as increasingly commercial premises have meters which download consumption information half-hourly.

How much energy do we really need to use?

In many organisations, energy consumption is a fixed cost, a necessary overhead and traditionally we have paid the bills and thought nothing of it. However, in this age of volatile and ever rising energy costs, we don’t want to stick our heads in the sand and ignore the fact that we don’t actually know what we use, where, and whether it’s being wasted. For example, we have heard from a well-respected energy manager who, through analysis of consumption data for a hospital laundry, identified high levels of usage out of hours. Their normal operating days were Monday to Thursday. To the shock of the Hospital Management, consumption analysis showed clearly that as well as the normal Mon-Thur consumption, the laundry was operating, and consuming, Sat-Sun as well. Investigations showed that a member of staff there had a profitable side-line going; they’d been using the facilities to launder football kit from a local Saturday League for at least 3 years.

Simple Spreadsheets can show wasted energy

Whilst this sort of occurrence tends to be an exception rather than the norm, it does highlight that commercial energy consumption has historically been seen as a necessary but relatively insignificant overhead, justifying little management attention. Ever-increasing costs mean it can no longer be ignored, next to staff costs it is the second highest financial liability, and in some energy intensive industries, the single biggest operational cost. A simple excel spreadsheet can graph your consumption levels, making it easier to identify where there is unexpected or wasted energy consumption. In our experience, every client has had some sporadic or unplanned energy consumption, out of working hours, that could be minimised through simple steps.

Identify your significant energy users and consumers, start to forecast consumption

For those who want to put in place more sophisticated controls, sub metering of significant users and highest consumers is the next step. This means that specific energy management can be undertaken and forecasting can be effected. There are some great bits of software out which track consumption, align it with the electronic building management systems (BMS) and monitor specific and significant consumers within the business, sending alerts to flag up unplanned consumption. Some software, linked to BMS or standalone units, can control lighting, heating, cooling, water temperature and other building functions, allowing a level of control and management which will ensure all energy consumed within the building is controlled and accounted for.

Try the simple things first, look at your consumption data

Back to basics though, if just want to make a start and simply better manage your consumption, through analysis of your usage, taking regular meter readings or obtaining regular data from your energy supplier is the first step. If you take measures to minimise the excess usage, or just reduce the consumption spikes out of hours, it’s this information that it will make a practical difference – and who knows, once you’ve seen the benefits you might want to install a more robust and comprehensive Energy Management System.

Energy Efficiency and making savings, it’s all about Change

Energy Efficiency, it’s all about Change

The cost of energy is forcing organisations to look at the way they consume their energy resources. This will allow them to improve their competitiveness and reduce their operating costs. It is impossible for any business to operate without using Energy and any programme of measures to improve efficiency should impact all the people within the organisation and this means CHANGE.

Everyone needs to Change to a greater or lesser degree

To gain maximum energy efficiency savings, ideally each individual within the workplace should take ownership for minimising the energy they personally consume in the execution of their duties. This will mean, to varying degrees, a change in the way their jobs and daily tasks are carried out. It might also mean a change to the way people and departments interact with each other or a change to operating procedures and guidelines.

Energy Management doesn’t need to be painful, we have all experienced Change.

However, most businesses are familiar with the Change Cycle and it is understood that in order to ensure a change programme is successful, individuals within the organisation will need to go through the psychological processes of transition. Transition allows people to come to terms with the new situation and routine.

Classic behaviours and feelings exhibited when implementing an Energy Management System (EnMS)

There are classic feelings, behaviours and emotions associated with change and they are likely to be seen in the roll out of any Energy Management System (EnMS). It impacts all areas of the business and introduces new methods of working, roles and responsibilities, targets and objectives, processes and procedures; it is a prima facae programme of change. The emotions, behaviours and feelings you will see during the process are not necessarily all negative though, as we can see in the table below:

Table 1: Common feelings and reactions associated with change

Negative Resentment Anger Nervousness It’ll never work Loss of motivation Low morale	Positive Positive Optimistic, Excitement Intrigue, Motivation, Challenge Confident, Interested, Engaged At last, enthusiastic learning Full of energy, A challenge.

Don’t discount your people’s feelings – we’re looking for Acceptance

What we are aiming for ultimately is acceptance and to achieve this we should remember that people may not see the need for change and many will have preconceived ideas and points of view regarding the validity and veracity of the planned change.

Behaviour changes can be a challenge

For example, a recent survey carried out by Gebs Energy shows that 75% of consumers are worried about the cost of energy but haven’t made any changes to their homes or domestic behaviours to reduce their consumption. They are so used to turning lights on, thermostat up or down, leaving their PC on at the end of the day, etc. Whilst they are worried about the impact in their own pockets they may not necessarily understand the importance and rising energy costs may have on the company they work for and if they haven’t started making behavioural changes at home, despite worrying about rising costs, they are unlikely to do so at work unprompted.

Refine your energy efficiency plan by listening and communicating

Communicating, understanding, listening and being prepared to accommodate other people’s ideas allows the refinement of your own energy efficiency plan, making it easier for the workforce to accept. Central to any change programme is the management of people, their perceptions and expectations. Listening to them and valuing their point of view should engage them sufficiently to engender belief in the ‘new way’ and a desire to see it succeed.

Change will bring its own energy efficiency rewards

While it is currently impossible for any business to operate without using Energy, in the near future it will be become impossible for any business to operate without using Energy Management. A lot of change will be necessary between now and then.

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.

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.

A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH

We are lucky enough to have the GEBS office across a courtyard, next to our house. Often, when I am called away, I admit I may leave my PC on – but do return to switch it off later. However, with the PC only being 6 months old, I have not been overly concerned as after a period of idleness it shuts itself right down into an ‘off’ state.

I knew it was energy efficient when I bought it, as the badge told me that this piece of kit has all sorts of energy saving credentials (part of the reason we chose it) and so our routine is at the end of the day after shutting down the IT equipment, we close the window shutters and alarm the office. However since summer we have, on occasion, left the shutters open…and here is my tale.

TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE LAMP

After 11pm, when we have taken our dogs out for their last walk of the day, through the office window, I sometimes see a light emanating from my desk. As there’s the possibility that I may have not actually switched my PC off, merely put it in eco-saving mode, I normally ask one of my boys to do me a favour and go over to turn it off. Which, after negotiation on the price of said favour, they have done.

However the boys have been in the US for a few weeks and seeing the little light, I have been going over to make sure the PC is off and not consuming kWh of electricity (you have to practice what you preach) but, to my great surprise each time, I have looked back over to the office there is a little white light winking merrily in the darkness. A few times in the early hours, the thought of the light has been aggravating, so frustratingly I have gone back over to the office to find the PC is logged off and turned off. Nevertheless to be sure each time I have restarted and closed down again ‘just in case’, but still, when I look back at the office, from the main house, I can still see this little white light gleaming at me, taunting me through the darkness.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS CHECK THE OBVIOUS

I must admit it has been challenging me every evening for about a fortnight. I have checked everything except my state of the art energy friendly computer. I have disconnected peripherals, even down to unplugging them from the mains and in the main house done the same for TV’s, DVD’s and Games Systems that might be reflecting in the window of the office making me think it is the PC (despite their lights being bright red and green, not gleaming white). However nothing has stopped the glow emanating from my desk.

So last night I decided to check the PC thoroughly, which I’d previously ignored, you know, the one with a list of Energy Saving credentials as long as your arm. What did I see? Well there is the tiniest of holes in the back of the display and yes, to my annoyance, shining brightly underneath this minute opening is my irritating and kWh-consuming light. While the PC is ‘off’, there are internal components drawing electricity from the mains to power this little light and I am fairly sure it is not the only light on under the case.

ENERGY SAVING EQUIPMENT MAY NOT BE ALL IT SEEMS

A while ago I was told by a told by a PC engineer that older electrical equipment had little lamps in their circuitry to help diagnose any problems, but, these lamps where being phased out, to ensure the unit was as energy efficient as possible. So I must deduce, given the fact that my PC is less than 6 months old and has an energy saving pedigree with award stickers plastered all over over it (including the start up screen), that unwanted lamps are not completely a thing of the past. So from now on I will turn my PC off at the mains each evening as well as the peripherals.

WHAT’S GLOWING IN YOUR OFFICE?

Spare a thought, however, for large commercial offices who may have got the message across to ‘log-off’ & ‘switch-off’. There may well still be little gleaming circuits shining brightly in the darkness, safe under their cases and, whilst it might be only small amounts of energy consumed per unit, magnifying this over all of the kit and peripherals may add up to a significant amount of unnecessary consumption. The message maybe should be ‘log-off’ ‘power-off’ or, to take the burden of remembering from the user, install centralised ‘power-off’ equipment to ensure nothing is able to feed the lamps glowing merrily and, mostly at least, unseen in the darkness.

FRACKING, SMOKE AND MIRRORS?

SO WHAT’S FRACKING ALL ABOUT?

Shale Gas Extraction, more commonly known as Fracking is the controversial method of obtaining gas from shale reserves. This process uses high pressured jets of water mixed with sand and chemicals to ‘fracture’ the rock releasing gas sealed inside.

‘DASH FOR GAS’ GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY, GOOD FOR BILLS?

In the US, shale gas extraction – where massive reserves have been identified and production is on-going – has massively reduced the cost of energy and consumers have seen their bills reduced accordingly.

In the UK the supporters of fracking, driven by the current government’s ‘dash for gas’ position, use this argument as one of their major reasons for why the UK should embrace this method of energy production. It is also suggested that the value of shale gas to the economy could be more than the returns from our current North Sea Oil and Gas reserves. Also, they say, Shale gas extraction would provide 1000’s of jobs and in doing so improve tax receipts, boosting the economy substantially.

‘DASH FOR GAS’, BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, FINANCIAL RETURNS NOT GUARANTEED

The anti-fracking lobby argue that the it is a short term energy solution for the UK, as we don’t have the reserves of the US. Fracking, they claim, damages and blights the area of production, contaminates the water table with carcinogenic chemicals and the longer term effects on the environment have not been proven. In particular, they argue, there is the potential for earthquakes due to the instabilities caused by the process on the subsoil structure. Finally, they insist, it is not guaranteed that UK consumers will actually reap the benefits of any cheaper energy.

ENERGY GAP

Both ‘pro’ and ‘anti ‘positions recognise that we face a potential gap in energy production and supply, especially with 6 coal fired power-stations due to close within the next 4 years and no clear road map, at this stage, to sustainable and renewable energy to fill the gap. The two also agree that alternative sources of energy need to be sourced to keep supply constant and that the UK needs to be as energy self sufficient as possible

AND THE WORD FROM OUR ENERGY COMPANIES IS…SILENCE

The overriding concerns for consumers, though, are energy costs and guaranteed levels of supply. Whilst the environmental argument is compelling and probably a reasonably accurate summation, noble and honest though the cause may be, it is the financial cost of energy which will sway public opinion (unless of course it is in their immediate back yard). The question to clinch the argument one way or the other is ‘will energy costs come down?’ Personally, given the deafening silence emanating from the UK’s Energy Companies, I think it unlikely. The lack of commitment from the EnCos to do so, and so sway the argument in favour, is telling.

UK SELLS ITS ENERGY ON THE EU MARKET BUT THE US HAS A DIFFERENT MODEL

The UK is not like the US; we are at the mercy of a ‘free energy market’. Our energy is sold on the global markets to the highest bidder. It isn’t ring-fenced for the consumers in the UK first and the excess sold on. Our EnCos have to buy their supply from the European wholesalers. Combine this with the fact that EnCos are there to make a profit for their investors and are looking for maximum return. Their collective behaviours to-date have not shown that value for consumer money is a particular priority for them. In fact, there is currently an investigation concentrating on gas-market manipulation and energy price-fixing. So, call me cynical, but this doesn’t bode well for unit price reduction; in fact, given their historical behaviour why would they reduce their unit costs when the consumer is paying the current price and cheaper supply merely means there is opportunity for more profit to be squeezed per unit.

BE HONEST, DIRECT ACTION ALIENATES THE ORDINARY BRIT?

However the anti-fracking position doesn’t promote sufficient confidence, despite a more reasoned and compelling argument. Maybe their message be better received if they weren’t perceived as being drawn uniformly from the ‘cause driven’ ‘tree-hugging’ ‘anti-capitalist’ or ‘rent a mob’ factions. For example in Balcome, East Surrey, (potential site for fracking and scene of recent mass protest against Cuadrilla, the production company) the BBC has reported that while residents are 82% against fracking, they are 100% against the direct-action approach being employed by the protesters. Yet 1000’s, drawn from across the UK, descended on this small community, which culminated in the Police taking on the protesters and numerous allegations of Police heavy-handedness.

DO OUR POLITICIANS DESERVE OUR TRUST WILL THEY DO THE RIGHT THING?

In my experience, the British people still baulk at ‘shouty’ ‘bossy’ ‘aggressive’ methods of getting your message across. It actually makes them turn away from what might be a bona-fide cause. We are, by nature, a polite nation who ‘trust’ the experts to ‘do the right thing’ and thus we are constantly disappointed when those we elect or in positions of high office are found to have their snouts in the trough or to be pursuing the pound for personal agendas at the detriment of doing what’s right.

CONTROL COMES FROM CHANGING BEHAVIOUR

All we consumers can do is look at our behaviours and the way we use our energy. We need to ensure we manage our consumption effectively and reduce our wastage. That way we take control of our energy consumption and whatever the outcome of the fracking debate, we control our demand. If fracking goes large scale, as the cynic in me believes is likely we need the guarantee that it will reduce the cost of our supply, create jobs, and tax revenue, otherwise it is a pyrrhic victory.

ENERGY MANAGEMENT ROADMAP

An Energy Management Roadmap?

A map, a route, a pen picture, a plan, a strategy. If you build a house, would you get an assortment of bricks, timber and roof tiles then just throw them together and hope for the best? When you go away on a trip, do you just set off and hope you get to your destination?

A Project with out a Plan?

And how about business Projects? If you don’t know what you are trying to do, how will you know when you have done it? If you don’t know where you started from, how far have you come and far is there still to go? How do you know your business is doing the right things, the things that offer the greatest return for the effort?

Don’t ‘Just Do It’

Nike has a slogan ‘Just Do It’ and we’ve seen “Energy Specialists” urging customers to ‘Take Action’ forget about the Consultants report. However a good consultants report should provide you with a plan to succeed, deliverables and choices that ensure the biggest positive impact for your spend. It is also a starting point for you to decide whether you have the capabilities in-house to do what’s necessary or to identify what help you need to make those gains.

Energy Audits, a Stake In The Ground

Every experienced Energy Management Consultant knows that the Energy Audit is the first step to managing consumption costs. It is proposed that the Energy Audit will be a NON-NEGOTIABLE action, under proposed EU Law. It is also a key part to implementing ISO50001:2011 Energy Management Systems, which may give exemptions from parts of EU legislation. These proposals will legally require a company to submit Energy Reports and without an Energy Audit you could face legal repercussions and fines; you would certainly not be eligible for ISO50001 certification.  Even without that, it makes sense to have one though. You see an Energy Audit has inherent value of its own. It brings together in one place your businesses energy profile. It identifies what types of energy you are using, how it is paid for and how you are currently consuming it. It looks at the technology in-situ, its age, its efficiency, operating times, condition, current and potential efficiency and whether it is well maintained including any service records.

Buildings, Lighting, Ventilation, Heating, Controls, HVAC

A thorough Energy Audit takes into consideration your premises, your occupancy times, how it’s maintained and what condition it’s in e.g. poorly insulated pipes, dirty skylights and windows, holes in the walls, broken windows. It looks at how the environmental and lighting systems are controlled, when they were last serviced or upgraded and what controls are in place.

Not just the wastage but the good consumption patterns.

From analyzing half-hourly consumption, the findings of a good and comprehensive Energy Audit should identify where energy is managed well and where there is wastage and suggest practical steps to make change and provide cost-effective solutions to reduce consumption. It is the turning point, the Vanguard for change and energy efficiency.

Due Diligence and a Viable Business Case

If a double-glazing Salesman turned up at your front door and promised you an instant solution to your growing domestic energy costs, purely by replacing your windows, you’d be dubious. Even if the double-glazing was a good price and you had the money, you would still want to consider whether it might be better spent on solar panels, a replacement boiler, new radiators, roof insulation etc. On reflection, you may not need to spend anything, perhaps you just need to find a cheaper tariff or turn the heating off in the rooms you don’t use or when you are out.

The point is, you would ensure you had properly analysed the situation and formed a clear idea of what would yield the best results before you started, certainly before you spent any money. Why should it be any different at work?

Energy Audits Have Value

Surely it’s inconceivable that a well managed and mature business would consider a programme of significant change requiring substantial capital expenditure on the word of a travelling salesman, without the necessary supporting business case and due diligence? Take Action, Forget about the Energy Audit and Consultants report? You’re not going to do that, are you?

Fuel Poverty and Food Bank Link

Fuel Poverty and Food Bank Link

Day to Day Living Costs Rise While Wages Fall

How much does my Appliance cost me in a year?

Energy Management First Steps – Simple Energy Audit

Make Simple Changes, Save Money on your Domestic Energy Utility Bill – We Have!

If you don’t do any other Energy Management, do this – it will save you money!

Energy Efficiency and making savings, it’s all about Change

Energy Management: Don’t just pay the bill

Are We Prepared For Our Energy Winter?

A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

FRACKING, SMOKE AND MIRRORS?

ENERGY MANAGEMENT ROADMAP

About Gebs

Sitemap:

Solutions

Head Office Address