Working it all out
0 Comments | Evening Post; Bristol (UK), Jul 3, 2010 | by Suzanne Savill
Office equipment currently accounts for 15 per cent of energy consumption in the UK.
It’s an alarming figure – but hardly surprising, given that a typical office is full of a electrical equipment such as computers, printers, lighting, heating, vending machines and hot water.
However, companies can now pinpoint which electrical items are using most energy – and costing most money – thanks to a Bristol- based business.
Monitor My Workspace was launched recently with the aim of enabling businesses to take control of their energy usage, and in doing so reduce their bills and carbon footprint.
“Many energy monitoring devices are aimed at the domestic market, and are not well-suited for large premises,” explains director Mike Matthews.
“But business have a great deal to gain from monitoring their energy usage. The Carbon Trust has estimated office equipment is responsible for 15 per cent of total energy consumption in the UK – but 60 per cent of this is being used by equipment and appliances left on standby, or switched on when they are not in use.”
The team managing Monitor My Workspace is the same team of technical experts behind Fulcrum Projects Ltd, the Bristol-based specialists in lighting, power and project solutions, which was responsible for power distribution for last years’ G20 summit in London.
Mike says Monitor My Workspace was set it up in response growing demand from energy conscious businesses and homes.
“An increasing number of companies are looking into ways of reducing their carbon footprint and demanding greater control over their energy useage. Many bigger businesses are targeted by the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), meaning they have to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, and smaller businesses want to do their bit to make sure they’re not wasting energy and money” he explains.
“Monitoring energy output is an effective way to save money at a time when overheads are rising and business budgets are under pressure, while making sure you do your bit for the environment.”
Monitor My Workspace has an online shop, which provides a selection of energy monitoring systems at a range of prices, which can identify which pieces of equipment are using excessive energy and where savings can be made.
Brands include Owl, Current Cost and Alert Me. The online shop also sells the new Enistic system, which Isabel Duckworth, marketing manager for Monitor My Workspace, describes as being “a scaleable system, perfect for small or large organisations alike, offering penny perfect meter readings when fully set up.”
Mike presses some of his keys on his computer, and graphs from the Enistic system comes on to the screen, and they can be seen auditing the power presently being used in the office. Isabel explains that this information can be collected into variable reports that can be daily, weekly, or monthly at the touch of a button to show energy use for an individual, department or for the entire building.
“This makes it possible to judge which appliances need to be programmed to be switched on or off at certain times to save energy,” she says.
Mike says research has shown that energy information is also one of the best approaches to carbon reduction.
The Enistic system provides a typical saving of between 21 and 27 per cent for companies that use it, so the initial investment in the equipment is usually repaid in about a year.
He adds: “Our aim is to do more than just to sell the monitoring equipment to companies
vending machine business