It can be surprising how much impact you can make on your energy useage (and carbon footprint) by making some seemingly small changes – here’s our top tips for cutting those fuel bills…
1. Make sure that all PCs and other electronic equipment are switched off at the end of the day – just one single computer and monitor left on 24 hours a day will cost a business more than £50 a year, but savings of £15 can be made by powering them down overnight and at weekends.
2. It’s surprising how often workplace lights get left on 24/7. Make sure employees are aware that the last person to leave at night should turn off the lights.
3. If you spot employees bringing jumpers to work with them in high summer, or wearing shirtsleeves in the depths of winter, then the temperature of your workplace could do with a review. Check that the heating and air-con systems are properly adjusted, and don’t let employees reset the temperatures, as constantly changing the thermostat will mean that more energy is used.
4. Do you run air conditioning with the windows open? This is a no-no, since the system won’t run as efficiently. Also, turn the unit’s thermostat up, and the heating thermostat down, to ensure that both systems aren’t running concurrently, which will waste no end of energy.
5. If it’s not feasible to appoint an employee to make sure these energy-saving measures happen (perhaps because the last person out of the door differs each day) it can help to put reminder notes up around the workplace.
