Energy is a significant business cost, and in a changing market it presents a strong opportunity for organisations to take control, improve efficiency and deliver long-term value.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) estimates that the average SME can reduce its energy bill by up to 30% by implementing energy efficiency measures and that a 10% saving can be achieved with little or no capital cost.
Simple actions to reduce energy use
Heating
- Turn down your heating at the thermostat. Costs increase by around 8% for every 1°C increase. The longer your heating is on and the higher the thermostat is set, the higher your bills will be.
- Turning down your boiler output temperature will also support it to run at a higher efficiency and use less fuel (often boilers will have an 'eco' mode).
Lighting
- Turn off lights not in use. Meeting rooms, storage areas and corridors, in particular, are often lit unnecessarily. Don’t forget external lights which can be very expensive to run and may not be required later in the evening.
- You could make more than 50% energy savings by switching from old inefficient lighting to LED bulbs.
- Installing timers and sensors are an excellent low-cost solution – occupancy sensors alone could cut energy use from lighting by 30%.
Electrical Equipment
- Electrical equipment can be expensive to run and can be wasteful even on standby. Switch off equipment when not in use.
- Make sure you’re using your electrical products effectively. If a piece of office equipment isn’t being used, switch it off. Even leaving equipment on standby can be wasteful.
Refrigeration
- Check your refrigeration thermostat and increase the temperature if possible.
- Look at the regular maintenance and management of cooled spaces. Poor maintenance can increase energy use from refrigeration by up to 10%.
Wholesome Kitchen, Mullingar assessed their energy use and invested in energy efficient equipment with the support of their Local Enterprise Office. Hear how they achieved a reduction of 30% in their energy footprint in the last two years, while growing their business.
Understand, assess and invest in energy efficiency
Understand
There are free, online platforms to help you to understand energy efficiency and how you can make small changes to cut your costs and conserve water. There are also programmes if you want to know more about enhancing your broader sustainability knowledge and skills.
Energy providers, be that gas, electricity or solid fuels, meanwhile have an obligation to help you to decarbonise. If you want a more tailored approach for your business specifically, you should contact your Local Enterprise Office, the SEAI or visit the National Enterprise Hub.
Assess
Once you understand what’s involved, you can assess what your options are.
The Climate Toolkit 4 Business gives you an estimate of your carbon footprint and generates a personalised action plan to help you to reduce your emissions and energy costs. You can get a grant for an energy audit of your business and support to pinpoint where to save.
Invest
When you’re ready to invest, there are government grants and loans to help you do so in as cost-effective way as possible.
There are grants available to:
There are also long-term low-cost loans to bridge the gap between the grant and full cost of the investment as well as tax incentives for investing in energy saving technology.
How other businesses are doing it
SMEs across Ireland are getting support from government to become more energy efficient.
Hear from businesses that have taken action and are now seeing the benefits.