Energy bills are often overlooked in businesses. Many are not aware that there is not just one flat fee for gas and electricity that you must pay. This, however, is not the case. Just like household energy bills, businesses across the UK have the option to switch their energy tariff and knock hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds off their bills every year. It is true that business energy is a little different to residential, but the method through which we switch remains pretty similar. In addition, you can save a huge amount of money by implementing some small energy saving measures that not many people think about. Read through this article and you’ll find out just how you can reduce your monthly energy expenditure.

Switch your tariff

First on the list, the most important in many respects, the switching of your energy tariff. There is a ginormous difference between the most expensive and the cheapest tariff on the market, and with the majority of business been automatically placed on the most expensive, it’s definitely time to start spreading the word. At any time, medium sized business users could save in excess of £1000 per year on their energy bills just by switching from the most expensive to the cheapest tariff. There are a variety of different tariffs types available for business customers which give them an edge over residential customers, so make sure you take advantage of the flexibility.

You may need a little more information for switching your business tariff, but it is still all readily available. Here’s a list of info you may need:

  • Meter Point Administration Number
  • Meter Supply Number
  • Yearly usage information
  • Meter type
  • Contract end date

You can proceed with your switch in the same way as you would with your residential tariffs: consult a comparison engine and find the cheapest tariff available to you based on your personal circumstances.

Switch to LED light fixtures

Lighting makes up an extremely sizeable portion of the average UK office’s electricity bills, but it doesn’t need to. Obviously, there’s nothing that we can do about the need to keep our workplaces lit up, but we can change the amount of electricity that we use in doing so. Older lightbulb types, such as filament style and incandescents are style installed in a large amount of UK office buildings, especially those built years ago.

Switching to LED lightbulbs could save your company up to 90% on lighting costs. No, that’s not a typo, 90%. LED lightbulbs are between 75-90% more efficient than older lightbulb types, meaning the amount you spend on lighting will be drastically reduced, having a huge impact on your overall electricity bill, given the current portion it represents in your energy bills.

Motion-detector lighting

In another bid to reduce lighting costs, here’s another idea. People are forgetful by nature, so when we go into rooms and forget to turn the lights off, it’s no great surprise. Using either a time or a motion detector can be a great way to reduce unnecessary lighting costs for when nobody is in the room.

These detectors are generally most effective when placed in bathrooms and meeting rooms, but do not have to be limited to such.

Regulate office temperature correctly

Over-optimisation of temperature control is a prominent issue in offices across the country. Many workplaces find themselves too cold in summer and too hot in winter due to air conditioning and central heating being handled poorly. Every degree that you amend in your office will affect the amount that you pay for your energy at the end of the month substantially.

It is estimated that the optimum temperature for workplace productivity is between 21-22 degrees celsius. What people tend to do, however, is overcompensate and believe it will heat up quicker if you set it higher. They later find themselves sweating or freezing, depending on the extreme, then needing to neutralise the situation, having just paid for the electricity.

Cut back on printing

Having to print and file every single document that your company uses is a thing of the past. Not only does it cost a fortune in paper, ink and electricity, it’s also less convenient to sort through. Storing your documents on a cloud based service can save you money and time and can make your documents much more easily accessible to the people that need them.

Using the cloud, you no longer have to use the phrase “I’ve forgot x document”, everything can be retrieved online and can be distributed as necessary giving certain users the access rights. If you are sceptical about cyber security, then you can still print off the important documents, this method is just used in order to reduce the amount of printing that you do.