With energy usage increasingly becoming a focus for businesses and industry, what else can you do to help you meet your target? The experts at Eco-Max have the answer.
As an on-site property manager, or someone who operationally runs a big factory or warehouse, the topic of energy reduction is always prevalent. With the government looking to reduce emissions and energy consumption, big businesses are looking at new ways to help them achieve this.
By now, most people who are responsible for the management of premises will have looked at many practices in order to reduce energy costs. LED lighting, for example, is often the first technology that seems a straightforward place to start, as they consume far less energy than their traditional discharge lighting predecessors. Whilst LED lights will make some inroads towards helping you to achieve your energy reduction targets and savings, in many businesses, lighting may only be a small fraction of your overall energy consumption.
There are other products out there that can dramatically reduce your energy consumption, and therefore reduce your energy bill too. One of those products is a voltage optimiser, and here’s how it works.
Did you know that UK electricity provided to every business is supplied at an average voltage of 242V and can be as high as 253V? But, as a business, you don’t need all that power as your electrical equipment can work efficiently at 220V. Basically, any power supplied over this voltage is wasting energy, which you are needlessly paying for. That is where a voltage optimiser comes in.
Whichever way you look at it, installing a voltage optimiser in your building or office will dramatically reduce your energy consumption, and therefore help a business to achieve its energy target. A voltage optimiser can reduce the energy consumed by your equipment across site by up to 19%, which can help a business not only reduce the amount of energy it uses, but also reduce its energy bill.
Businesses which rely on electrical equipment or machines that are consistently switched on to carry out production are the ones that will most benefit. And let’s be honest, that is the majority of UK businesses.
There are other benefits too
The over supply of electricity to your equipment can also reduce its life by nearly half – 45%, according to the British Standard Wiring Regulations. So, whether your business is office-based or industrial, the over supply of electricity can lead to a piece of equipment failing much earlier than needed.
Wayne Cramer, MD of GWE, explains, “Whilst we have tens of thousands of voltage optimisers installed across the UK, it still seems to be the energy sector’s best kept secret, and we regularly see it help businesses reduce their energy consumption by around 10%.
“Why wouldn’t you want to fit one to help a business reach its energy target? We’ve been going 26 years and in that time I’ve had plenty of facilities or energy managers ask me how we can help them hit their energy efficiency targets. This is now getting more difficult to achieve for many of them as they may already have done the LED lighting and other technologies, but it’s no less of a focus for all business owners and managers.
“My answer has always been, and still is a voltage optimiser. Fitting one, even after you have done all the other energy efficiency measures you can think of, is even known to exceed your annual energy reduction target in one go. Once fitted you don’t need to think about it, it just gets on with helping you achieve your energy goals year on year.”
Lots of well-known businesses have already turned to voltage optimisers to ensure they are as energy efficient as they can be. Kelloggs, Betfred and the National Trust have all installed voltage optimisers to help hit their energy targets across their businesses and become more energy efficient.
