October 21, 2011

It’s the Final Countdown…

Filed under: Energy News — Tags: , — Newsroom @ 12:34 pm

Finally, the countdown to the government’s green deal is on its way with the Energy Act 2011 which has now become law.  This will begin in autumn 2012 and will permit householders to install energy saving equipment without having to pay any upfront costs.  Instead the green deal will pay the costs which will then be repaid from the savings on each home owner’s energy bill.

Before any work is carried out the home owner will have an assessment of the work of the property to establish which energy saving options will be the most beneficial.  At the present time the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) believe that over fifty per cent of UK properties have insufficient insulation.  Although many homes do have some level of loft insulation, considerably fewer premises have cavity wall insulation.

Double Glazing is another way in which energy is conserved within the home rather than just disappearing through windows, and in many older properties window frames which, in comparison with new properties, aren’t as tightly fitting.  Even small gaps can cause hot air inside the property to disappear.  Single glazing doesn’t help in trapping the warm air inside the property.

If a property is deemed to require loft and cavity wall insulation, together with double glazing these can be provided under the green deal scheme.  However, once the property has been assessed, and there is confirmation that the above items would be beneficial, then the next thing which will be looked at relates to the financial part of the deal.  For a home owner to have improvements carried out under the green deal banner, the work done will be paid for the home owner, who then repays the cost through savings on their energy bill.

On that basis if loft and cavity wall insulation, together with double glazing were to be carried out, the cost to the home owner each month may be – this is just an example, and not to be taken in any way as actual figures – say £10.  As long as the savings on the energy bill after the improvements have been made are greater than £10 per month then the work should be approved.

The same principle will apply to every proposal, and as long as the savings are greater than the amount to be repaid then the work can proceed.  The home owner doesn’t make payments each month to repay the cost – these are automatically taken from the energy savings, and therefore the energy bills will be adjusted accordingly.

This won’t mean that energy bills will increase; far from it, even with the cost of the work being added to the bill, the savings will be greater, which will result in the home owner’s bill being lower.

The first step is to have the property assessed which will confirm the improvements which should be undertaken, provided that the calculations ensure an overall reduction in the energy bills.  The improvements may include solar heating, or new boilers for central heating.  It is individual to each property.

August 22, 2011

Forget the Bigger Picture

Filed under: business energy — Tags: , , — Newsroom @ 10:14 am

When an expert is trying to make a point, either when being interviewed or in a debate, and someone isn’t agreeing with them, at some stage the following comment will be trotted out – “You need to look at the bigger picture.”   In many cases that will just inflame the situation.   Why on earth would anyone want to consider the bigger picture?

Let’s take, for example, energy saving.  There’s global warming, the ozone layer, micro generation, carbon footprint, solar energy and a whole raft of other topics.  The majority of small business owners, although they may be interested in some or all of these global issues won’t, in a high proportion of cases, have the funds necessary to install a biomass boiler or wind turbine etc.  What they are interested in though is the bottom line.  Along with a huge number of other small or medium sized business owners, the way to bring enthusiasm into the subject is by suggesting that they contact an energy broker who can save them money.

An independent energy broker has access to the whole of the energy market products and can provide evidence to his client to show they can save money.   Changing energy providers at the end of the current contract will probably be cheaper, or there may even be a possibility of the broker managing to arrange a better deal with the current provider.  Additionally, the broker can suggest many ways in which the client can reduce costs by making minor changes within their business.  Purchasing energy saving light bulbs, turning the central heating down by one degree, switching off computers when everyone goes home at the end of the day rather than leaving them on stand-by is a really good start.  All of these ideas do save money and quite a large proportion of all future energy bills should show these savings.

In other words, look at the small picture, and encourage other business owners to make the same savings.  This will generate huge savings nationally and globally.  Large businesses that are able to afford the installation costs and space requirements necessary to embrace micro generation should, of course, do so.  Smaller companies can concentrate on saving energy this will benefit them.  In the fullness of time the installation costs involved in installing the green options – solar panels, wind turbines and biomass boilers will reduce.  In the meantime let’s encourage small businesses to reduce costs, not to look at the bigger picture, which doesn’t help them in any way.

Once every business is making an effort to reduce their energy costs, perhaps there can be a way to subsidise the larger purchases of boilers, wind turbines and solar panels etc.  Businesses will become greener as a result of saving energy and similar systems can easily be implemented for residential consumers.  Surely the resultant savings which can be made are worth discussing with an independent energy broker who will ensure that you have completely unbiased information.

Look at the smaller picture – that’s the one which will help your business to reduce costs.

August 18, 2011

Some Changes are Good – Others are Better!

Filed under: Energy Efficiency — Tags: , , — Newsroom @ 9:44 am

It’s a tad disappointing to note that whilst there is so much information available for business owners that a high proportion of them aren’t making any effort into the provision of energy saving.   Everyone grumbles at the spiralling costs from the energy providers; however, small business must make changes in the way they use energy.

According to a recent survey many small business owners admitted that if energy costs continue to rise as predicted , then they may need to consider closing their business altogether.   Some of the same companies then went on to confirm that they hadn’t made any provision for reducing their energy bills.  One of the main reasons given for not embracing an alternative provision of energy was that the customers felt that the cost implications were likely to be prohibitive.  This is a total fallacy as a larger expenditure would only be necessary if they were to completely change their heating system etc.

Bringing about a change doesn’t need to imply huge expense – small changes can bring about proportionally greater savings than might be expected.  Simply switching each computer off when its user goes home can save between £75 and £100 each year – and that is for just one computer.  The savings obviously increase depending on the number of computers.  Another easy cost saving is achieved by turning the central heating thermostat down by one degree.  This will save in the region of 10% of the heating bill and no-one will notice.  Obviously the staff must be able to work in relative comfort.

Depending on the type of business could there be a way for employees to work from home on one or more days each week?  In many office based companies this can work really well.  In the majority of cases the employees are delighted to work from home and now that the internet is readily available members of staff are virtually able to work as normal.  Another suggestion along similar lines could mean that specific staff could be in the office to deal with the general public, if it is that sort of company where people walk in off the street.

These are only thoughts and there are probably a hundred more; however they are ideas which may lead you to think of many more.  Ask the staff for energy saving ideas and perhaps give a small prize for every original suggestion.  Involve them in the plan and they will appreciate that their comments may be listened to and, possibly, acted upon.

Whatever you do, don’t sit on the fence waiting for the decision to be taken away from you, and find that your company is suddenly ordered to make changes.  Although nothing along these lines has been mentioned, at some point, if every business isn’t making an effort to save energy, there will be pressure from on-high!  Start making the changes now, and soon it will be second nature.