Becoming energy efficient need not cost your business money. There are a range of things that can be done that not only save you money but also reduce your company's impact on the environment. Remember, reducing your energy bills also reduces your contributions to the Climate Change Levy and helps Britain achieve its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol.

No cost actions

Air Conditioning

• Air conditioning systems should not be set to compete against your heating system.
• To prevent this set your heating at 19 °C and your air conditioning 24 °C.

Heating

• Shut doors and windows when the heating is on
• Remove any obstructions from radiators to allow the heat out into the room
• Turn heating down (or off) when rooms are unoccupied
• Reduce your pre-warm time in the morning
• Turn your heating down
• Heating costs rise by 8% for every 1° C of overheating

Electricity

• Turn lights off when they are not needed and use natural light instead
• Lighting in most offices costs £3.00/m2/yr while in the most efficient office it can be as little as £1.00/m2/yr 
• Turn photocopiers, computers and drinks machines off when not in use
• A photocopier left on over night uses enough energy to produce over 5,000 A4 copies

Ventilation

• Ensure all unnecessary ventilation and extractor fans are turned off when the building is empty 

Water Heating

• Turn your hot water heating thermostats down to 60° C (but no lower as a precaution against the development of legionella) 

Low-cost actions

Inexpensive investments that can reduce energy costs include:

Lighting

• Change your light bulbs to energy efficient ones
• Installing high frequency fluorescent lighting eliminates mains 'hum' and can often reduce electricity consumption by as much as 30 to 60%

Heating

• Ensure your heating system is maintained regularly
• Heating costs can increase by 30% or more if the boiler is poorly operated or maintained

Hot water

• Insulate all your hot water and heating pipes
• Good pipe insulation can save 20% of heating costs
• When fitting a new boiler, install a condensing boiler (approximately 15% more efficient)