KNOWING YOUR USAGE –WHY BUSINESS OWNERS SHOULD TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR ENERGY DATA

While wholesale energy prices have fallen from their summer 2022 peaks, there is a substantial lag before these are fed back through to consumers and understandably, it can be a point of frustration for business owners. Regardless of whether prices are now starting to fall, for many businesses they have already felt the impact of the initial hike on their finances. Indeed, electricity prices in the UK rose by 66.7 percent and gas prices by 129.4 percent in the 12 months to March 2023,1 meaning that businesses have already had to accommodate rising costs into their operations, which in turn affects their future plans.

It is something that sustainable technology expert, Pilot Group, is looking to support them in tackling through the provision of its energy management system (EMS). While businesses may want to reduce their energy bills, knowing where to begin can be a daunting task. Many business owners know the cost of their energy consumption but remain stumped as to how to reduce it or hold the notion that measures to combat it will come at an unaffordable cost. Meanwhile a lack of understanding for how their business consumes energy adds further complexity for owners.

Businesses tend to consume energy in multiple forms, from electricity to natural gas, to oil. As a result, tracking and monitoring energy usage can be a complicated task. Another factor is the misconception that energy is a fixed cost and is a necessary expense that cannot be reduced, and so many owners do not prioritise energy management or seek out opportunities for energy savings. As a result, they carry on enduring higher bills for far longer than is necessary.

1 https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/ inflationandpriceindices/articles/ costoflivinginsights/energy

For organisations looking to rise to the challenge of energy bills, they should look at implementing measures which will allow them to take control of their data. By implementing an analytical approach as a starting point for reducing their energy consumption, businesses can assess in fine detail their energy outputs and identify where realistic savings can be made. In doing so they can empower themselves to make strategic decisions which will benefit the company’s energy outputs going forward. This is where tools, such as Pilot Group’s EMS, can play a crucial role.

Pilot Group’s easy-to-use EMS system enables organisations to streamline their operations with the use of smart sensors and a self-learning algorithm which increases heating efficiency. This, combined with a user-friendly portal, which can be accessed remotely, allows users to monitor multiple sites. Averaging a 40 percent reduction in consumption from gas and heating, the system can bring about huge savings. Meanwhile, it gives them an overview of their energy consumption which can improve their business’ facility performance.

As well as the financial benefits, the system allows business owners to plan ahead for expected energy costs. This is particularly important for businesses working in industries with high energy consumption, such as manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation. By providing an overview of all aspects of energy usage, from heating to lighting, to air conditioning, it brings forward valuable insights into energy consumption which allows for energy savings and efficiency improvements.

Effective energy management and monitoring can be a vital tool in helping businesses meet energy bills head on. It can open the door to a wealth of data which was previously unavailable, and crucially, it enables a business owner to see exactly where their company is using energy and the inefficiencies across its operations which should be addressed. As a result, users of energy management tools can see almost immediate reduction in gas and electricity costs with an optimised system in place.

A key ambition of Pilot Group is to empower the UK’s businesses to take control of their data, and therefore their energy bills. Pilot Group has been assisting companies across the country to make significant savings through the use of its EMS system. By allowing companies to take an analytical approach, the EMS enables them to track their energy usage across all areas of the business, and crucially, assess where savings can be made with actionable solutions.

For businesses who want to take control of their data, Pilot Group, is on hand to help with a proactive approach which will help them tackle the pressure of energy tariffs. For organisations interested in reducing their energy and carbon footprint, it would be worth giving us a call.

For more information visit https://www.thepilotgroup.co.uk/ Lee Morgan is Managing Director of Pilot Group Ltd’s Energy Management Division, who support organisations meet carbon reduction targets using technologies and lead the way in smart, safe, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.