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Which Appliances Use The Most Energy In Your Business?

With the increasing price of energy, businesses are looking for ways to help cut costs and reduce operating expenses. Whether you are a high-energy user manufacturing goods or a service provider running offices across the country, reducing your business energy expenditure will have a positive effect on your income statement.

A nuanced approach is required to solve the problem of how much energy (and money) you can save.

But, you can’t manage how much energy you use if you haven’t measured it.

This article will provide a detailed look at how you can monitor your business energy consumption and help you to implement an efficiency plan.

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Which Appliances Use The Most Energy In Your Business?

Why Monitoring Energy Consumption is Essential for Businesses

You can compare business energy deals as well as monitor business energy consumption. This helps improve operational efficiency. Monitoring helps to reduce costs and targets those areas that make the most difference to the bottom line.

By monitoring energy usage over time, small and large businesses can minimise their environmental impact. This helps the environment and is a positive signal to customers and investors.

Monitoring helps to identify energy-intensive appliances

Before you can make changes, you need to identify exactly which areas require improvement. You start this process by monitoring the appliances and equipment that use the most energy. This pinpoints the equipment or processes that contribute to business energy waste.

Business energy saving practices

Monitoring also helps with the implementation of energy-saving practices in energy-intensive operations.

These might include using natural light by opening curtains and blinds. Turn off computers, monitors, printers, and scanners. Thermostats can be set to comfortable temperatures to avoid frequent changes.

The Many Benefits of Reducing Business Energy Usage

Aside from using the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), businesses can use other measures to reduce their energy usage and achieve cost savings through lower operational expenditure.

They also enjoy the benefits that positive environmental impacts produce. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions can help to improve public perceptions.

Reducing energy usage and using the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) results in an enhanced reputation among environmentally conscious customers, investors, and partners.

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How to Save Energy in the Office

There are a variety of ways one can save energy in an office or work environment. There are two main areas where energy usage is most easily saved:

  • The first involves the environmental controls within a building. These include the airconditioning units, ventilation and lighting as well as any refrigeration and freezer units.
  • The second area involves the use of office equipment and machinery. The equipment may in certain circumstances be replaced with more energy-efficient units. It may also be managed to allow for greater cost savings.
Design Elements

How To Measure Electricity Usage By An Appliance In Your Workplace

Each appliance has a certain wattage. Once you know the wattage, you can calculate the energy usage using this formula:

(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day) ÷ 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption

What Uses Most Electricity In Your Office?

Heating and cooling

The heating and cooling of business premises accounts for as much as 40% of a business’s energy usage. So, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are one of the first energy systems that one can look at when reducing usage.

HVAC systems

Apart from helping to maintain a comfortable temperature for employees, HVAC systems are designed to improve air quality inside a building. To do this they consume a large amount of business energy.

To ensure that your HVAC system operates efficiently, the system must be regularly maintained and serviced.

Install energy-efficient HVAC equipment if HVAC equipment is old and in need of replacement. Businesses can save on their energy bills by selecting an energy-efficient HVAC system.

Seal air leaks

If it operates at peak efficiency then it will minimise energy wastage. This will be enhanced by sealing air leaks around windows and doors. Doing this helps to prevent conditioned air from escaping the building.

Demand controlled ventilation

The use of demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) can have a significant effect on energy usage. It’s a feedback control method that maintains indoor air quality. It does this by automatically adjusting ventilation rates based on changes in a room.

The use of ceiling fans helps to circulate air, especially in large areas such as workshops and halls. This can make a significant difference to the occupant’s comfort while minimizing HVAC usage.

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Lighting

Lighting may account for as much as 30% of a commercial building’s energy consumption. Traditional lighting options often waste a lot of energy.

LEDs are much more energy-efficient. More than 80% of the energy used by traditional lighting is turned into heat rather than light. Changing to LEDs can thus lead to significant savings on energy bills.

Apart from being more energy-efficient, LEDs also last much longer than traditional bulbs. They are less likely to break with the result being a reduction in maintenance and replacement costs.

LED bulbs are more expensive but have a far longer useful life. They also require less energy for the same level of lighting resulting in savings of up to 80% on energy usage.

Design Elements

Refrigeration and freezers

Commercial refrigeration and freezer units are an essential part of many businesses, specifically in the storage of food and other perishable items.

Monitoring refrigerator and freezer temperatures allows a business to optimise thermostat settings that maintain a temperature of between 1.6°C and 3.3°C for fridges and -17°C and -15°C for freezers. If a refrigerator is set 10 degrees colder than necessary it can use as much as 25 per cent more energy.

Maintaining the equipment regularly, ensuring that seals are intact and that the condenser and motor are operating optimally.

Office equipment

While office equipment may not account for the majority of a business’s energy usage, reducing usage can help to bring down the overall energy usage.

Computers use a fair amount of energy when they are left on overnight or when they are not in use. Turning them off when not in use is a policy that is easy to implement and monitor. The same goes for printers and copiers.

With most business correspondence and work products available in digital formats, it makes sense to implement a policy of only printing paper documents when absolutely necessary. This will cut down on energy and paper usage.

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Compare Business Energy Prices with Business Energy Comparison

Business Energy Comparison helps businesses compare energy tariffs from different business energy suppliers. By utilising online tools, businesses can save as much as 45% on their energy bills from a gas and electricity energy supplier in the UK.

The service works with top utility and business energy suppliers to offer their customers a cheaper business energy tariff by securing the best business energy deals. You can find information on how to compare prices, switch business energy suppliers, and save money.

Important factors such as your supplier’s business energy prices, standing charges, customer service scores, as well energy fuel mix are all highlighted. A business can save money by comparing their energy supplier against other business energy suppliers. They can then reduce their business energy prices, avoid expensive out-of-contract rates as well as access competitive renewal rates on their business energy contracts.

You have access to average price estimates for business electricity and gas based on your business size. You’ll also get answers on the difference between domestic and business energy, the availability of dual fuel tariffs, and the impact of energy consumption on costs.

So if you want access to the latest business energy tariffs and the latest information on energy-related topics, then Business Energy Comparison is the place to be.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most energy-consuming appliances in a business?

Your current energy supplier will point to the HVAC system and the refrigeration and freezing equipment as the most energy-consuming appliances. Other gas and electricity equipment includes manufacturing process equipment used to heat, cool, or power machinery.

How can I reduce energy usage in my commercial building?

Managing your HVAC usage as well as ensuring that windows and doors are properly sealed when closed can have a huge impact on energy usage by HVAC systems.

Are there energy-efficient alternatives for commercial lighting?

Your energy supplier will recommend the most energy-efficient commercial lighting uses LED bulbs. They are not only more efficient but are dimmable, allowing for the best possible lighting for the room or work area.