Do you know how much energy is being wasted by the main appliances and electronic devices your business uses? You probably have no idea that some alterations can help you save hundreds or even thousands of pounds each year.
Let start off with some math to work out the amount of energy and money your business could be potentially wasting.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the unit of measurement we will use; if an appliance’s energy usage is measured at 1kWh it basically means it uses 1,000 watts in one hour. One kWh will typically cost around 15 pence. Now let’s look at some devices we have in the office and how much money is wasted.
Laptop/Computers
Every workplace will have computers in use for most of the working day and in some cases, they will be on for 24/7.
A desktop computer that is idling will typically use about 100 watts (tower and monitor combined) which is 0.1 kWh – 1.5 pence. Let’s say you’re away from your desk for lunch, meetings etc. for three hours per day so your computer isn’t in use. Now we can use this information to work out how much money is wasted for any period of time:
1.5 pence x 3 hours = 4.5 pence/day.
That amount doesn’t sound like much, but you have more than one computer in the office. Let’s say you have 50 in your business each idling for three hours a day:
(4.5 pence x 50 PCs) x 260 days = £585 per annum (based on a 5-day week 52 weeks per year).
Lighting
Now we can take a look at your company’s lighting, using the same calculation:
A light bulb typically uses 60w of electricity when on, which is 0.06 kWh, or 0.90 pence per hour.
Let’s say that again your lighting is on for three hours unnecessarily, then for every 50 light bulbs you are wasting:
(2.7 pence x 50 light bulbs) x 260 days = £351.00 per annum.
Old Appliances
Did you know that even if you switch off an appliance it will still use energy if plugged into a switched on plug socket?
These ‘Vampire’ appliances add on average 14 percent to annual domestic electricity bills according to the Energy Saving Trust, costing UK households nearly £1bn in wasted money. This problem can also affect businesses.
If you have TVs, laptops, desktop computers, printers and phone chargers that are not in use in the office make sure to switch them off and unplug them, this will save your business money.
Being mindful of the above could potentially see hundreds of pounds knocked off your business energy bills. Still want to know how you can reduce your carbon and reduce your business energy costs? Read our useful seven simple steps to cut your business’s carbon emissions, save energy and money blog.