Energy Savings

Energy costs have risen sharply over the last year with gas increasing from 2.6p to 3.4p a kWh and electric rising from 14.4p to 15.8p a kWh. This will cost us up to £1 million pounds next year.

Costs are likely to continue to rise into 2019 and with the effects of Brexit still unknown there are likely to be further increases ahead.

Our target is to be below last year’s actual consumption figures on like for like sites for FY19 with further savings identified for FY20. With the hot summer I’m sure you noticed increased use of air conditioning and in turn increased costs. However last winter we had the “Beast from the East” and therefore there should be savings to be made over the winter months – the mild October and early November should already be helping in terms of reducing the heating bill on site.

There are still over 100 days of this financial year remaining, so your role is to go further and cut our energy bills by another 5%.

Every site needs to contribute to this target; with an average saving of just £15 a day the company would save £700k per annum.

Clearly the larger sites have an opportunity to save more money, but the principle is the same whether you work at a dry side site with relatively low energy costs, or a large leisure centre with extensive leisure waters and 1 million customers per year.

Steve Parker will be attending each of the next Area Manager meetings to provide guidance and support on how to make savings and to demonstrate good practice in energy management. The action plans which Steve will provide are self-explanatory and as soon as you have them you should start reviewing what actions you and your team can take and implement them immediately. In the meantime, some immediate savings can be achieved simply by completing the following;

• Check that the BMS run time is set up correctly 
• Less use of AC and more use of fresh air through AHUs
• Monitor gas and electricity usage daily to identify peaks and patterns of unusual / excessive use 
• On regular building walk rounds educate staff to turn off unnecessary lights and ensure lights and AC is only used when the rooms are in use.
• Unplug any seldomly used electronics or appliances.
• Log off your computer (do not turn off as important updates are performed overnight) and turn off your computer screen.
• Introduce Christmas closure plan ensuring optimum savings over this period.  

At the end of each month a league table will be produced identifying the consumption and financial savings to show which sites are saving the most against last year’s actuals.

This is a must do exercise and all staff should be reminded that they have a duty to ensure that energy consumption is minimised – this is not just a company matter, it is a major issue for all local authorities to demonstrate that their buildings are efficiently operated in terms of energy consumption and there is a worldwide agenda to reduce carbon emissions.

Any support needed to deliver the required savings - please contact Steve Parker or one of your Technical Support colleagues.