'Unseen' energy waste could cost small businesses £3bn in 2010

Small and medium sized business could be set to lose as much as £3 billion in 2010 as a result of inefficient equipment and energy wastage.

The Carbon Trust calculates out-of-date equipment is wasting small businesses' cash, but energy company npower believes much of the problem is that business owners simply can't see the wastage and are losing money without knowing it.

Many of the UK's small businesses aren't able to get an immediate view of the energy they're using and what it's costing them.  npower research also shows that many SMEs don't have the time or the money to invest in energy efficiency actions, further adding to the problem.

To tackle the problem npower is providing free energy monitors to every small business in the UK signing up to its 'e3' package, which will give businesses a real time view of their energy use and let them see the instant effect of turning equipment on and off.

“For many small enterprises the priority has to be running the business, particularly during these tough economic times, meaning there is little time to dedicate to saving energy.  Even though small measures like switching off equipment can make a big difference to energy costs, there's no obvious impact of flicking a light switch.  You can't see your energy use drop instantly and bills won't always register a change immediately so there's often little incentive to keep on saving energy, particularly when you're busy,” explains Allan Robinson, head of products for npower energy services.

“Just seeing your miles per gallon can make you drive more economically, so actually seeing the energy you're using can encourage people to stop wasting energy.  Businesses using the monitors say they're surprised by what actually uses energy in the workplace and they have really changed their behaviour to become more energy efficient.  The monitors are an ideal way to take control of your energy use,” Robinson adds.

npower's energy monitors are simple to install and show users the energy they're using at any given time, the cost per month and a record of energy use for each working day.  npower calculates businesses taking energy efficiency measures could save up to 20% on their bills, equivalent to an average £1000 per year.

npower says the beginning of the year is the ideal time to start using the monitor so businesses can easily see the effect on a year's energy usage.  Small businesses can sign-up to 'e3' and receive a free monitor from npower at www.npower.com/saveenergyin2010, which also provides advice and guidance on how to save energy at work.

Energy waste - the facts!
· 30% of the energy consumed in the UK is wasted costing businesses billions of pounds
· 20% of the total energy bill in offices is accounted for by office equipment - about half of this use stems from PCs and monitors
· Office equipment is expected to account for 30% of energy use by 2020
· Lighting a typical office overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1,000 cups of tea

Top energy saving tips for 2010
· Get a free real time energy monitor so you can see exactly what energy you're using
· Switch off computer monitors during lunch breaks and activate stand-by options to reduce energy consumption by up to 90% per year
· By switching laser printers off in the evenings and at weekends, energy consumption can be reduced by 75%
· Think about switching to laptops. Prices are falling and laptops use only around 10% of the energy of a standard PC
· Energy saving light bulbs use 75% less electricity than standard light bulbs and last up to 10 times longer
· Seven-day timers on shared equipment, such as printers, vending machines and water coolers, will ensure that they're not left on overnight or at weekends and can save up to 70% on energy costs