It’s that time of year again where the hats and scarves come out, heating systems are switched back on and the newspapers start predicting this winter to be the coldest on record. As the temperature starts to drop and the days get darker, that means energy bills may spike due to heating and lighting being used more often.

Despite mounting pressure on the ‘Big Six’ business energy suppliers in the UK and decreasing wholesale energy costs across the world, there is nevertheless still a concern among businesses owners that prices will rise as the air gets colder.

"More and more business owners are discovering the benefits of switching their business energy supplier"

Although every business is different, and the amount of energy consumed will vary greatly depending on a number of factors, the average office will use 63% more gas from autumn to winter, according to British Gas. While you may not be able to fully escape the inevitable rise in energy usage at the end of the year, there’s no need to fork out a fortune to stay in business.

Read on for our handy guide on how you can stay warm in your business this autumn and winter without ending up with a costly bill at the end of each month.

1) Make your offices more eco-friendly

You don’t have to repaint your office to make it greener, and the benefits can be huge. According to the Carbon Trust, the energy usage of an office that has made the effort to become more eco-conscious can be up to 65% lower than a standard office.

There are plenty of quick and easy ways that businesses can help themselves save a small fortune in the later part of the year. Are your doors as efficient as possible? All it takes is a few draught-proof strips and no more unwanted cold air can breeze through. Heat-saving window blinds are incredibly easy to install, and something as simple (and free!) as ensuring that all windows and doors are kept shut can go a long way towards saving both energy and money.

2) Start Thinking Smarter

The way we monitor our energy usage has changed a great deal over the past few years. One of the biggest initiatives has been the use of smart meters.

In fact, according to the very latest government statistics released on 10th September 2015, 2,300 smart metres and 16,400 advanced smart meters were installed by energy suppliers into non-domestic properties in Q2 of 2015. While these numbers are certainly impressive, it’s hoped that all UK premises will receive a smart meter and have it installed by the year 2020.

The benefits of smart meters in homes has been widely discussed, although it is also worth mentioning that they can be used by businesses too.

The main advantage of using smart meters is that they can drastically reduce the amount of admin work, as a reading of your consumption is sent straight to your business energy supplier. They will also help to give you a better idea of how much energy you use and waste.

Wasting energy is bad for the planet and the pocket

3) Where are you wasting energy?

When faced with the primary problem of cutting back on your energy usage, it can be difficult to know where to begin. How do you know where to improve if you don’t know where the damage is being done? But never fear, help is at hand. The University of Cambridge has compiled some useful statistics into the unnecessary energy wasted in offices. Read on for just a few.

• According to the Energy Saving Trust, a single PC monitor left on overnight wastes enough energy to print 500 pages.
• In order to counter the carbon produced by leaving a photocopier switched on, 10 trees would have to be planted.
• A window left open overnight wastes the same amount of energy as driving a small car 35 miles.
• Using the air conditioning in an office for an extra hour a day wastes enough energy in a single month to power a television for a year. (The Carbon Trust)
• A two degree increase in office temperature can produce enough carbon dioxide to fill up a hot air balloon

When it’s laid out in this kind of context, it’s easy to see where changes could be made. Just think about how much energy could be saved just by switching off plugs and monitors at the end of the day! Get your staff on board by showing them just how much energy is being wasted by their bad habits.

4) Take a look at the competition

Now we don’t mean your industry competitors, we’re sure you have your eyes on them at all times anyway. But have you taken a look at what your business energy supplier’s competitors are doing recently? For the majority of businesses, their energy tariff takes a back seat, meaning companies simply roll-over their contracts and keep paying regardless of the fact that they could be missing out on a great deal elsewhere.

Thanks to lobbying by consumer organisations and increased awareness, more and more business owners are discovering the benefits of switching their business energy supplier. As the length of time it takes to switch gets shorter, with the overall aim being 24 hours in the near future, it’s now easier than ever to switch.

As we have shown in our top tips, there is plenty that businesses everywhere can be doing to cut back on their energy expenditure. In most cases, just by taking a few simple steps and by getting everyone in the workplace involved, businesses can take huge steps towards cutting their energy bills and do their bit for the environment at the same time.

Phil Foster is the CEO of Love Energy Savings, a North West-based business energy comparison specialist