5 ways your SME can save on energy expenses

Energy prices are a major concern for many small businesses. Being small has its benefits though, and there are many ways to improve your energy management and reduce costs. One of these is their ability to switch business energy providers.

We’ve compiled some tips that you can use to save money on your energy bills.

Find out your home's credit score

Check your home condition score to find out!

Check it out

SME Ways to save 

1. Switch off lights, appliances, and equipment

Turning off appliances at the wall is the first step to saving energy. If you’re not using an appliance, turn it off at the wall, and it’s that easy!

It doesn’t matter what type of appliance it is; whether it’s a laptop, a scanner, or a lamp—if you are not using it, turn it off. 

2. Switch To Better Services

2.1 Know your tariff

Your energy company will typically have a number of different tariffs or payment options tailored to different types of customers. 

Identify the one that best suits you (usually the cheapest), and keep track of how much it then costs to use your business’s electricity supply every month. 

This can be done either by contacting your energy provider directly or accessing their website—either way, make sure to check what each tariff entails and whether there are any hidden costs involved in switching over to another one (such as paying an exit fee).

2.2 Switch supplier

If you’re unhappy with the current deal offered by your energy supplier, consider switching tariffs with another provider instead—there are plenty out there that’ll offer more competitive rates than what’s currently available from most companies.

3. Know Your Consumption

3.1 Monitor Usage

To monitor your usage, you’ll need to install a meter that measures electricity, natural gas, and hot water. This can be done by a qualified technician and is usually paid for by the utility company.

Measuring several months of data before making changes to your business operations is best.

When you download your monthly readings, try not to focus on one month in particular—you may see high or low numbers for reasons unrelated to energy use (for example, holidays). 

Instead, look at how each month compares with previous ones and make decisions based on that information.

3.2 Check-up your resources

In your journey to save on energy costs, the first step is to do a check-up of your resources. 

How much electricity or gas do you use?

What are the patterns in your usage over time? 

Can things be done to make it more efficient, like changing light bulbs or turning off lights when not needed?

4. Get Smart Meter Readings

Smart meters are the most common type of residential and commercial electric meter. 

They automatically send your energy usage information to your power company, which can help you keep track of how much electricity you use. 

You’ll also get a discount if you consume less than what’s predicted in your billing cycle.

What are the costs? Smart meters aren’t free, but they’re generally affordable enough that they should be worth it for people who want better control over their utility bills. 

If you have multiple properties with lots of electrical equipment or tenants who aren’t great at paying their bills on time, installing an entire network of smart devices will allow you to monitor them all remotely and automatically send reminders when payments are due.

Even if someone still needs to get money in their account right now (or forgot), they’ll still receive an email letting them know that payment is due soon!

5. Cut down on travel

When it comes to cutting down on travel, your SME can do a lot of things. 

One of the most effective is to reduce the number of business trips you take by using video conferencing instead.

Of course, there are other ways you can save money and energy on business travel. 

If you know that a meeting is far away, try booking public transport or carpooling with nearby colleagues. This will help cut back on your business’s fuel usage and carbon emissions!

Conclusion

The best way is to start by understanding how your current supplier works and then switch if necessary. 

If you want to save money on your energy bills and have followed the 5 tips set out herein, another resort to explore is to find out if there are grants available for SMEs.

Whatever solutions you implement, make sure that any changes made will not affect other areas of operation within the business, such as staffing levels or capital investment plans.

Written by Billy Guteng. January 8, 2023

Billy was born in France, and has lived in multiple cities around the world ever since. He loves art, design and architecture and he supports the KUKUN team as a content provider.