Here at BEEP we continue our work remotely and we’re adapting our support for County Durham’s SME’s through these unprecedented times. Our team are on hand to help you with any queries you may have surrounding energy efficiency, savings on energy bills and can provide advice on funding and support available.

We know everything feels a little uncertain and energy efficiency may not be top of your priority list right now, but there’s a few helpful steps you can take whether your business is temporarily closed or continuing to operate on reduced or different work than usual.

Energy Saving tips during lockdown:

1.    Make sure you take meter readings even if you have a smart meter. To avoid an estimated bill and make sure you don’t pay more than used. This may also be a good time to book a future appointment with your supplier to get a smart meter installed.

2.    Turn heating down/off. With the speed businesses were shut down, and the temperature at the time of shutdown, heating may have been left on inadvertently.

3.    Adjust timers. In the middle of all this, the clocks changed. Make sure any timers used (i.e. lighting, heating etc) in the business have been adjusted.

4.    Equipment and Machinery. If you can safely follow the Government guidelines on social distancing measures, now could be a good time to carry out essential maintenance checks and work, making sure they’ll work efficiently when turned on again.

5.    Turn off hot water heaters.  Keeping a tank of water at 600C uses energy, and depending on how well insulated yours is, it may be better to switch off your hot water tank until the business is back in operation. Please check Health and Safety advice on Legionella when restarting hot water systems.

6.    Don’t leave on standby setting. Remember, leaving appliances or equipment (computers, printers, microwaves etc) on standby instead of switching them off at the wall, will continue to have a running cost.

7.    Turn your fridge off or adjust temp. Instead of having a fridge sitting empty switch them off at the plug. Or if you have items that are long life needing refrigerating adjust the temperature settings to use less energy.

8.    Check your utility tariffs. This may be a good time to explore whether you’re on the right tariff for you.

9.    Develop an Energy Policy – write a business Energy Policy or, if needing help, contact BEEP and we will draft something for you.

Paying bills:

This is a tough time for all businesses and utility suppliers along with the Government have emergency support plans in place. If you have any problems or queries, – do not struggle alone – contact your suppliers and local authority as they may be ways to help you and your business.

Other considerations:

If you’re considering Solar PV or even Electric Vehicles for your business, BEEP is here to help you. With Solar PV, we can provide a desktop solar survey with an estimate for your site’s potential. This will help you consider the probable money savings and CO2 emission reductions. If an electric vehicle is on your list of considerations, we can advise you on Government grants for purchasing electrical vehicles and installing charging points at your place of business and your home.

Keep safe

The Business Energy Efficiency Team