What are the benefits of a business energy audit?
We hear from our partner, Green Wing Energy Solutions.
The journey to net zero can feel overwhelming – with many businesses not knowing how to focus their carbon-reduction efforts to make maximum impact. That’s why we’ve partnered with energy auditor, Green Wing Energy Solutions.
In this article, Green Wing Energy Solutions explain what happens during an energy audit, and how it can help businesses of all sizes save energy and money.
Who are Green Wing Energy Solutions?
Green Wing Energy Solutions are experts in energy efficiency, helping businesses to identify inefficiencies, cut costs, and reduce energy and water waste. They work with businesses of all sizes, across multiple sectors – including hospitality, leisure, care and manufacturing; tailoring solutions to each client’s needs.
What happens during a business energy audit?
Green Wing Energy Solutions conduct thorough energy audits to uncover inefficiencies and provide actionable recommendations tailored to your business. Each audit takes around four hours, and covers the following:
Energy benchmarking: Green Wing Energy Solutions will analyse your current energy consumption and compare it with industry standards to highlight areas for improvement. This will give you a clear understanding of where your energy usage stands in relation to similar businesses and pinpoint areas where efficiency can be enhanced.
Asset review: Your auditor will conduct a thorough examination of your existing energy assets, such as lighting, HVAC systems and appliances, to ensure they are running efficiently. This review will identify any inefficiencies or potential issues that may be contributing to higher energy costs, ensuring that you are getting the best performance from your current setup.
Energy solutions: Within a week of your audit, Green Wing Energy Solutions will provide you with a detailed report that includes tailored recommendations to help you reduce energy consumption and costs.
This report will cover short term and long term upgrades or changes to your current setup, designed not only to lower your energy bills but also to improve the overall sustainability and operational efficiency of your business.
Aftercare support: Following the audit, Green Wing Energy Solutions will offer continued support to assist you in implementing the recommended solutions. They work closely with reputable solution providers, such as Good Energy, to ensure that the recommendations are carried out effectively. They will work closely with third parties throughout to ensure the solutions achieve the intended results, giving you long term value, continuous improvement and cost savings.
Quick and long-term energy solution examples
Quick wins
- Upgrade older lighting to LED lighting for immediate energy savings and efficient illumination.
- Install Smart control systems tailored to your industry, to optimise heating and cooling, and reduce waste without major upfront costs.
- Integrate advanced energy monitoring tools to ensure sustained efficiency improvements.
- Switch to a genuinely renewable energy tariff.
Medium – long term solutions:
- Install and optimise HVAC to improve system performance and minimise energy waste over time.
- Upgrade to energy-efficient water heating systems, such as heat pump water heaters or solar thermal solutions, to achieve significant long-term savings.
- Implement Voltage Optimisation technology to regulate and optimise the electricity supplied to equipment, enhancing efficiency and reducing unnecessary energy consumption.
- Install solar PV to generate on-site renewable energy and achieve payback in <5 years.
What are the benefits of a business energy audit?
Cut your costs: Energy prices have been unstable over the past few years. Many businesses can substantially cut costs by making efficiency improvements identified by an energy audit; and generating renewable power onsite.
Get ahead of regulation requirements: The UK government requires all privately-rented commercial properties to achieve an EPC rating of B by 2030. Businesses that act now can avoid costly last-minute compliance measures and gain a competitive advantage.
Protect the planet: Reducing emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3 is essential for combating climate change. By optimising energy use and adopting renewables, businesses can enhance their environmental and social responsibility profile, improve brand perception and do their bit to protect the planet for future generations.
A health and leisure spa appointed Green Wing Energy Solutions to carry out a detailed energy audit, due to rising energy costs of £15000 a month. Circuit-level monitoring was identified as an immediate action – providing the customer with real-time visibility into their energy usage and inefficiencies.
Within weeks, the monitoring system revealed £35,000 in potential savings. Encouraged by these results, the client is now exploring retrofit solutions, including Coolnomix upgrades to HVAC systems, which account for over 50% of their electricity usage. Projections show these retrofits could reduce HVAC energy consumption by 30%, delivering substantial long-term savings.
