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> Saving energy in the office
> Energy saving tips
> Purchasing green electricity
> Climate change levy
> Promoting green energy to your office
It is vital that we reduce the
amount of energy we consume, both in order to cut down on associated
pollution and conserve the world’s natural
resources and habitats.
Scientific opinion is now united that the planet
is facing an unprecedented period of climate change. This means a warming
of the atmosphere leading
to storms, rising sea levels and unpredictable weather patterns.
To
business this means greater cost due to disruption and a predicted
rise in financial costs.
Our offices are contributors to this problem.
The rapid growth in office energy use reflects the expansion of office
floor space, the increase
in lighting, IT use and air conditioning. This need for electricity
has led to a significant increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
from
the burning of fossil fuels, a major contributor to climate change.
Nuclear power although a lesser contributor to CO2 production,
generates long-term
dangerous waste from a high-risk industry. What is required is
greater energy efficiency and further use of renewable energy sourced
from
wind, wave, solar, biomass and small hydro.
Saving energy in the
office
Have a free energy audit conducted. This will tell you
where your greatest losses are and where you could make the greatest
savings.
There are
a number of Government funded bodies that can advise charities
for free!
These audits should look at all aspects of office energy including
insulation, heating, lighting and equipment use.
Energy saving
tips
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Encourage staff to switch off
lights, computers, photocopiers and other electrical equipment at
night. Enable energy-saving features on all computers
and copiers.
-
Ensure that lights and none essential equipment
is turned off when not in use.
-
Replace normal filament bulbs with
energy efficient alternatives.
-
Put the monitor to sleep rather than
use screen savers, they often consume more energy.
-
Consider energy-efficiency
when purchasing new equipment. Give preference to equipment with
low power stand-by or sleep features.
Check with your supplier.
-
Printers spend lots of their time “idling” compare
energy consumption of different makes.
-
Keep a regular account of how
much energy is used by the office and set targets for reducing consumption
to a practical
level.
-
Make sure external doors and windows are draught-proofed.
-
Regular
maintenance of your heating system can improve efficiency.
-
Insulate
pipe work and hot water tanks.
Purchasing “green” electricity
The UK has the
largest potential for renewable energy within Europe. By choosing to
purchase green energy, businesses can reduce
the environmental impact of traditional energy generation and
support the renewable
power industry at the same time.
Following the deregulation of electricity supply it became
possible to receive electricity from suppliers that generate
or trade
green energy.
The UK Government passed the Renewable Energy
Obligation in 2002 requiring all electricity suppliers to provide
3% of their
electricity
from renewable
sources. The level of this obligation will rise each year
till it reaches 10% by 2010.
Renewable energy is pooled
along with electricity generated by other sources into the national
grid.
Signing up to the green tariff does not guarantee you
get direct green electricity down the wire into your office,
but that
somewhere within
the grid the demand for electricity is being matched
by an equivalent supply of green electricity.
Not all the suppliers
purporting to supply green energy do so using clean renewable energy.
Some
suppliers accept electricity generated by landfill gas, the burning
of waste in incinerators, large-scale
hydropower
or nuclear
power.
While these tariffs can offer cost savings they are
not necessarily green or
renewable.
There are two main types of green electricity
tariffs.
1=Energy tariffs
2=Fund tariffs
1+2=Combination
-
You can also buy a combination of the two. These are the
most common tariffs. Considered better because not
only is a customer’s
request for green energy matched with
a renewable supply but contributions
to
a fund are made. This has an additional
pull on the electricity generators
to generate more
green electricity.
-
Find out what you are
being charged for. Some electricity generators have charged business
customers extra
for green energy that they are required to supply through the REO.
-
If you have
any doubts contact a green energy advisor or visit some of the excellent
web sites that rank the energy suppliers in
their commitment
to supplying green energy.
Climate Change Levy
As part of a policy to reduce the levels
of CO2 emissions from energy production and use, the
UK Government
introduced the
Climate Change
Levy. This is a levy on the industrial and
commercial use of energy. The levy
is designed to increase energy efficiency
across businesses.
The levy does not apply to energy used by
registered charities for non-business uses
and energy
used by very small firms,
those using
de minimis or a
domestic amount of energy.
Electricity generated by new renewable
energy (e.g. wind and solar) is exempt
but not large-scale
hydroelectric.
When you are choosing an
energy supplier some suppliers will say they are Climate
Change
Levy exempt. This
however does
not necessarily
mean
that it is energy from a renewable energy
source.
Check your bill, it will tell
you if you are Climate Change Levy applicable.
Promoting green energy
to your office.
Changing your supplier is just
one part of the office energy efficiency measures
that
can make
significant
cost savings
and reduce environmental
impacts.
Domestic customers can change
too. See how many of your office colleagues
can
change
their supply
at
home.
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