Taking action on energy use

Energy Surveys

Before you improve your energy efficiency, consider measuring and monitoring current energy use to help prioritise areas of improvement. One way of doing this is through energy surveys.

Energy surveys are assessments of the performance of all energy consuming services in the building through analysis of energy bills, information from building management and data logging. EiE offers the following:
  • Energy Audit: By reviewing an organisation's energy use, particularly identifying areas to improve efficiency, cost savings can be made as well as reducing the amount of energy used. A report identifies the actions recommended and savings to be made.
  • Out of hours surveying: EiE provides a secondary energy audit reviewing energy use when an organisation is closed after working / operational hours. By implementing simple management changes, drastic reductions in energy use and costs can be made.

After carrying out surveys and identifying priority areas, action can then be taken to improve energy use and ensure efficiency in the following areas.

Heating

Energy for heating represents about 60% of energy use for the average business (Source: Carbon Trust). Inefficient energy use costs more money than is necessary. There are a number of areas where heating can be improved to save energy and maintain a comfortable temperature for the building's occupants and reduce costs.

It is important to check that rooms are not simultaneously being heated with one appliance while drawing in air conditioning with another appliance. For appliances that can do both, check that settings on the thermostats are appropriate for heating and cooling purposes.

Heating controls
Heating controls determine when heating systems are on and ensure that they are effectively managed and energy is not wasted. Energy is saved when heating is used minimally to achieve comfortable temperatures as stated in The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. There are a number of ways heating can be managed:

  • Thermostat controls work by feeding temperature readings to a controller and switching boilers and pump operations on and off when suitable room temperature limits are reached.

  • Optimum start control systems: This advanced time controlled system uses internal and external sensors to monitor temperatures in heating systems. It can bring the building's heating on at an optimum time prior to occupancy and minimises energy wastage according to the business's requirements.

  • Weather compensation controls: This form of automatic heating control system uses sensors to measure a property's internal and external temperatures and adjusts heating circuit flow temperatures to match variations with outside air temperatures.

  • Building Management Systems (BMS): This computer-based system allows for the control of building services using inputs (temperature sensors) and outputs (on/off signals) connected into outstations around a building with modems to allow remote access. A business is then able to closely monitor conditions throughout the building and determine the operation of plants such as heating, ventilation and lighting in response to changing conditions such as time, temperature and light levels. It is then possible to programme specific business requirements into the system.

  • Timed controls specify when heating should come on and how long it should be on for. Programmes automatically turn the heating and hot water on and off at set times. Three switches controlling the on/off times are:

    • AUTO which automatically turns heating and hot water on and off at set times.

    • ON which can be used to manually override the auto-set standing time starting time, and

    • OFF which can be used to manually override he auto-set finishing time.

Often, only a few staff members have been trained to set controls. By ensuring that a wider range of employees fully understand the heating controls, energy can be saved. Employee training can be offered by companies supplying heating controls or contractors who install the controls.

Heating systems
Heating systems increase a room's temperature to compensate for heat losses between the room and outside. Essentially, the more modern a heating system is the more energy efficient it will be. However, to ensure a system is efficient, the Enhanced Capital Allowance website lists heating equipment certified to an optimal level of efficiency.

Regular maintenance of heating systems, which is a legal requirement, provides a business with its efficiency ratings. It is important to ensure that maintenance includes updating efficiency ratings and setting heating optimally. This may include CO2 to gas ratios, and flue settings (for gas boilers). Most heating systems in the UK are 'wet' using hot water pumped through radiators. Other systems include:

  • Electrical heating: Electric storage heating systems are very different from a "wet" gas central heating system. The majority of homes heated by electricity have a combination of storage heaters and panel heaters with an electric immersion heater for the hot water.
  • Convector heaters are popular heating systems because they warm up quickly and can be efficiently used to heat medium to large rooms. A majority of convector heaters can be wall mounted or free standing allowing them to be moved around at will.
  • Storage heaters work by storing heat during off peak periods when electricity is cheaper, usually overnight. The stored heat is then released into the room the following day. Storage heaters have two controls; input and output which are adjusted in anticipation of the weather.
  • Forced air heating draws air in a room through ductwork and filters into a heating furnace where it is warmed using gas, electricity, wood or oil. The warm air is then blown back into the room through vents. This system can be combined with air conditioning for cooling purposes.
  • Under-floor heating: In under floor heating, warm water is circulated from a boiler using continuous piping heating the room from the floor up. For this heating system to be worthwhile in terms of both heating bills and energy efficiency, it is essential to have proper insulation as floor heating and cooling down can take up to 24 hours.
  • Building insulation: Typically, two-thirds of a building's heat is lost through the fabric (A building's fabric refers to the walls, ceiling, windows, floors and doors). Proper insulation of its fabric plays a major role in increasing a building's energy efficiency. Walking around the building and noting areas of damp and those that need improvement will help identify priority insulation areas and reduce the need to install a new heating system.

Lighting

On average between 15 - 20% of total energy spend is on lighting. Lighting is efficient when minimal energy is used to generate the lighting and the lighting is only on when necessary. Some practical measures to reduce energy use include:

  • Switching off lights in unoccupied rooms
  • Switching off lights and appliances at night and over the weekend
  • Switching to energy efficient bulbs and fluorescent lighting
  • Reducing light levels in unused areas e.g. corridors and store rooms

Fact

Only around 6% of the electricity of a 'traditional light bulb' is converted to light. The rest is lost as unwanted heat. (Source: Carbon Trust )

Increasing business energy efficiency can also be achieved through purchasing or updating current lights to those that are more efficient:

Fluorescent lights: Technology is rapidly increasing the efficiency of fluorescent tubes. They are cost effective, have relatively low wattage and emit less heat. The mechanisms to start and maintain fluorescent lights have become more efficient. Fixtures reflecting light into a space have become better designed to waste less light.

Fluorescent tube size is measured in length and diameter. T12 tubes (1.5 inches in diameter) have been replaced with T8 tubes (1 inch in diameter) that emit the same amount of light using 10% less energy (explain how). T5 tubes use 10% less energy than T8 tubes and emit the same light. T8 and T12 tubes are physically interchangeable as they use the same bi-pin cap and are the same length while T5 tubes require adaptors or new fixtures to fit in T8 tubes.

Incandescent lightingis the traditional tungsten light bulbs in small spaces and homes. These lights rely on the resistance of the filament to electricity, causing it to heat up. They have a low purchase price and immediately produce a full light when switched on. However, they have a short life span and low efficacy.

Low energy bulbs use up to 80 per cent less electricity than a standard bulb, but produce the same amount of light.

Lighting controls help reduce the amount of energy used in a building through:

  • Switches which are found in the same room as the lighting they control. They should be in adequate numbers to allow lights to be switched on selectively.
  • Timers automatically turn lights off after a preset period. These are especially effective for lighting small storage areas and for external lighting.
  • Movement detectors switch lights on when they sense movement and switch them off after a preset time and are mostly used in larger storage areas and toilet facilities.
  • Photocells detect daylight and switch on lights accordingly and are best used for external spaces such as car parks.

Appliances

An appliance can be any other energy using device apart from lighting and heating devices. This might include: Information Technology equipment, white goods (fridges, freezers), water heaters, stoves, photocopiers, fans, vending machines, etc. As with other energy reduction actions, the main aim with appliances is to ensure they are not left on needlessly.

In most cases, appliances can be switched off manually. However, some items require a timer or other methods to switch off. For example, vending machines containing non-perishable items may be fitted with a timer to switch them off when the building is not in use. An extractor fan may be wired to a motion sensor or light to be in use when a room is occupied.

When purchasing new appliances, it is important to take note of the energy label attached to it. EU Energy Labels are compulsory labels applied to all white goods and appliances to show the energy efficiency and consumption of the product. The appliance's energy efficiency is shown in a rating scale, which provides an index of its efficiency from 'A' (the most efficient) to 'G' (the least efficient). Energy labels allow consumers to make informed decisions about the purchase of energy-consuming appliances.

Green IT

Standby mode
Many energy using devices can 'power down' or be in standby and still use energy. In fact for items like photocopiers, standby or 'eco' mode uses only slightly less energy than being on as normal. One way of measuring energy use of an item it to use an energy monitoring plug which helps determine how much energy (and cost) the appliance represents and whether using a timer or similar method of switching the item off is appropriate.

An energy monitoring plug show how much power individual appliances consume by measuring voltage, wattage and the power factor. The cost of running the appliance can be calculated over a period and cumulative costs obtained. The information provided by the monitoring plug helps to identify areas in the workplace where electricity is being wasted, allowing energy saving measures to be taken.

The suppliers of some appliances may suggest that leaving an appliance on continuously will be better for its maintenance and longevity. In cases where there is uncertainty about switching off an appliance, contact the manufacturer and ask what energy management options would be best. If the appliance should not be switched off when not in use, consider procuring a similar appliance that can.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
LEDs are tiny light bulbs which are widely used as indicator lights on appliances such as electric clocks, remote controls and increasingly in higher power applications such as flashlights and area lighting. Very often LEDs are alight even when the appliance is off. While LEDs use minimal power, a workplace can be filled with LED lights increasing its overall energy use. There are a number of ways to reduce this energy use:

  1. Ensure no power is running to the appliance by turning off electricity at a main switch
  2. Procuring appliances that do not have LED lights like extension leads
  3. Removing or disconnecting LEDs from an appliance

Awareness

Because there is always human interaction with energy use; whether heating, cooling, lighting or appliances, the users' awareness level of energy management is important. Before designing and running an energy awareness programme, consider a number of elements:

  1. Energy users: Are the users of energy mainly business employees or other users of the building e.g. clients or visitors?
  2. Communication method: In what ways are the building users currently communicated with?
  3. Environmental commitment: Does the organisation have an environment committee or similar?

Generally successful awareness programmes have the following elements:

  1. Clear actions to take - actions that can be carried out easily such as switching off computers when not in use or closing windows that have been opened.
  2. New and innovative methods of communicating - messages that are more than four months old or those lost in a long list of other suggestions tend to be less successful than more recent and interesting options.
  3. The support of upper management - If upper management shows no visible evidence of supporting energy efficiency in general, an awareness campaign is very difficult to run well.
  4. An environmental champion - There are always enthusiastic employees whose commitment to energy saving can help the programme along.

Support for awareness programmes can be found on the Carbon Trust website which provides posters, newsletter and displays that can be used to for energy programmes.

Back to top