Carbon is the most sought after element in the world economy. This is due to our use of energy in the form of fossil fuels. This burning of fossil fuels is the main producer of greenhouse gases namely CO2 believed to be responsible for what is now commonly known as “Global warming”.

Britain is facing stringent E.U. CO2 reduction targets. This will affect us all in the way we use energy and pay for it. Already we have seen the Climate Change Levy imposed upon businesses on top of VAT.

You pay for your energy as pence per kWh = unit cost to your business = CO2 production from fossil fuel burning

1 kWh = average 7p

Production of that same amount of energy from fossil fuel burning power stations per kWh can be as much as 0.95 of a kilogram

In simple terms a one bar electric fire rated at 1000 watts for one hour produces almost as much as a kilogram of CO2.

The chart below shows the proportion of CO2 emissions that power stations are responsible for in the UK total emissions of CO2 at the time the study was taken, to give you some idea of how your actions at a local level have an effect on a global scale.

Its clear to see that energy supply to the domestic and industrial premises is responsible for a large proportion of the total CO2 output of the UK.

So we have to save energy but this also means saving money. We are all mostly becoming aware of the things we have to do, however now is time to think about future proofing your business in the face of the uncertain carbon economy. Let’s look at a simple example of how energy efficiency really does mean saving money.

The energy efficient light bulb comparison

The difference is the amount of electricity used to give the same light output and in the extended light length of life. A high efficiency bulb typically uses only 20% of the electricity of a 100 watt incandescent bulb of equivalent light output. Also, a high efficiency bulb will last 8000 hours against only 1000 hours for an incandescent.

In order to appreciate the savings we need to do a simple calculation to compare old incandescent bulbs to a high efficiency bulb. Taking for example UK electricity in 2001 cost on average about 7p per kilowatt-hour.

20 Watt Compact Fluorescent Lamp

In its 8000 hour life a 20 watt CFL will consume:

8000 x 20 = 160,000 watt-hours = 160 Kilowatt-hours of electricity

At 7p per kilowatt-hour this will cost: 160 x 0.07 = £11.20

So, including the £10 cost of the lamp the total cost over 8000 hours = £21.20

100 Watt Incandescent Lamp

In 8000 hours the 100 watt incandescent lamp will consume:

8000 x 20 = 160,000 watt-hours = 800 kilowatt-hours of electricity

At 7p per kilowatt hour this will cost: 800 x 0.07 = £56.00

Each incandescent lamp lasts 1000 hours, so over 8000 hours we will need to buy 8 lamps at 50p each. This adds another £4 bringing the total to £60

So the overall saving in using a compact fluorescent lamp is:

£60.00 – £21.20 = a total saving of £38.80 per bulb

So now its pay back time, energy cost is rising , use less where possible.
So that is an efficient bulb consumes 20 watts, this means for every 1000 hours of use at an average of 7p per kilowatt hour will have a cost of £1.40.

Compare that to a traditional incandescent bulb consumes 100 watts so for every 1000 hours of use at an average of 7p per kilowatt hour will have a cost of £7. All within a thousand hours.

Saving £5.60 per 1000 hours lighting per bulb.

Multiply this by the number of bulbs you have in your business or house.

This is only one example but the easiest to quantify in cash terms.

Energy efficiency is complicated, but  simple changes can lead to big savings and reduced emissions:-

Heating/Heat Loss – Space heating i.e. the heating of your building consumes the bulk of delivered energy to domestic and business premises,  try to prevent heat from escaping with simple measures like draught excluder’s,  company policies of energy efficiency drives and insulate roofs/walls where possible.   Have your air conditioning maintained regularly and your central heating checked, you may even be eligible for a grant to replace your old inefficient boiler(domestic only).

There are 4 main ways that heat is lost from a building, windows / doors / walls / roof.

Windows – Double glaze your windows, make use of blinds/curtains to keep heat in and make use of sunlight in the summer to heat and light your building, ie turn down lighting and heating with the seasons.

Doors – Draught excluder’s are a cheap and efficient method of reducing ventilation  heat loss.

Walls – Cavity wall insulation is an excellent method of insulating your property and helps a premises maintain heat meaning your boiler uses less energy to maintain a comfortable environment.

Roof – Ensure your property’s roof has been insulated, heat rises, the most heat is lost through poor roof insulation.

Refrigeration – In the year 2000 the total of business and domestic refrigeration accounted for around 16 Tera Watt hours (TWh = 1000 x 1000 Mega Watts MW this is a huge amount).  Much of this is because a lot of refrigerators are old and inefficient.  If your business is not heavily reliant on refrigeration(therefore should have the latest most efficient machines), even one small/medium fridge freezer, if more than 10 years old needs to be replaced and would would pay for itself  in a very short space of time and reduce your carbon emissions.

Lighting – Take a look at the figures in the above example for proof that changing to energy efficient bulbs really does save energy & money.

Change the way – your employees think about using energy , encourage policies of switching appliances off at end of shifts etc and maintenance management using heating efficiently.

Paperless office –  do you really need to print? E- faxes cut down on direct expenditure as well as indirect resources and energy in producing the paper.