How businesses in London can combat rising energy costs
Why are energy rates so high?
Over the last few months, energy prices hit record levels, putting businesses in a financial tight spot. The key reasons for the hike in energy prices are:
Recently there has been less wind than usual, resulting in declining electricity generation from UK wind farms.
Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine is resulting in economic sanctions against Russia. Russia is the world’s largest natural gas exporter.
During a cold winter in 2020/21, the UK used all its natural gas reserves, meaning the UK is now reliant on importing gas from Europe.
How you can combat the rise in energy rates to protect your business
Here are a few tips to help manage the enormous increase in energy prices to protect your business.
Compare energy prices
Compare business energy prices to ensure you’re paying the most competitive rates for your company. With a price comparison tool, you can collect business energy quotes from suppliers across the market and compare the various tariffs on offer.
If you have less than 12 months left on your contract, you will be eligible to compare and fix a new unit rate for the future. Agreeing on new rates 12 months ahead will protect your business against future energy price volatility. You’ll swap over to your new rates when your current contract ends.
AquaSwitch offers a free, no-obligation business energy comparison service. Compare today to get the best business gas prices and commercial electricity rates.
Install a smart meter
Installing a smart meter is a great way to reduce your business energy bills. By installing a smart meter, you will start to pay the exact amount for your business's energy consumption. So many businesses are paying inaccurate bills as their usage is estimated, meaning businesses can be paying a lot more than what they are actually using.
A smart meter also helps you monitor your business's usage minute by minute. If you see a huge spike in usage, you can react much quicker to a potential inefficiency or leak than you would on estimated or manual consumption.
Use efficiency devices
Use timers in the office or smart features. Having timers on lights, computers, and printers will significantly reduce your energy consumption.
For example, adding sensors to the lighting and smart timers to switch off when the business premises is closed will save you a lot of money. It’s incredibly easy to forget to switch off a computer and leave it running on standby throughout the evening and weekends. Standby mode uses electricity unnecessarily.
Renewable energy and devices
Install solar panels on your business premises. Solar panels are easy to install and have become considerably cheaper and more efficient over the last ten years. It is a long-term solution, but the solar panels are now estimated to pay their investment in 3.5 years.
Solar panels will last approximately 30 years, so they prove to be hugely cost-effective in the long run.
Use heat pumps. Even heat pumps can be classed as 100% renewable if the energy provided is 100% renewable from solar, wind or wave.
A heat pump can heat your premises and provide hot water without using gas. It gathers air externally and processes it, creating hot air and hot water in a highly efficient process.
Compare business water suppliers
It’s not energy-related, but 68% of businesses have never switched their water supplier. With the increase in water rates in April 2022, there’s a likelihood that your business could save a considerable amount on your current tariff.
You can use our comparison tool to compare business water suppliers in minutes.
We hope this guide was useful to you and gave you some ideas on how your business can reduce its energy bill in the long term.
For more help and information visit www.aquaswitch.co.uk