The pandemic has hit UK businesses hard, with owners making difficult decisions to find areas within their business plan to save money and reduce costs.
A recent survey of 500 business owners conducted by Yü Energy has revealed reviewing expenses (41%), reducing staff (40%) and introducing new energy efficiency measures (34%) are the most common money-saving factors that businesses within the industrial sector have put in place since the beginning of the pandemic.
This comes despite energy being the second-highest cost to businesses after tax. During the height of the pandemic, one third (34%) of industrial businesses introduced energy efficiency measures to help reduce their business costs as 8 in 10 (81%) owners think they pay too much for their energy tariff.
Yü Energy’s survey findings reveal that industrial business owners are not energy-savvy, with one in five (19%) admitting they don’t know what type of energy tariff they are currently on or when their plan is up for renewal (24%).
Figures show that businesses within the industrial sector could be overpaying by 44% on their electricity bill and 65% on gas if they are on a deemed energy tariff. A business within the industrial sector with the average floor area of 2,000sqm could be overspending a huge £17,272 if their energy tariff is out-of-contract.
Despite this, two fifths (43%) of business owners admit the last time they changed energy provider was 3 years ago. One in five (13%) admit switching five or more years ago and one in 10 (10%) admit to never changing provider.
Being happy with their current provider (56%) and not wanting to pay the exit fees are the main blockers for switching, despite more than a quarter (28%) believing they could potentially save money on their business’ energy bill.
The survey findings reveal that many businesses within the industrial sector aren’t paying attention to their energy usage, with more than half (54%) admitting they don’t know their businesses daily energy usage and 1 in 10 (9%) admit to not checking their energy usage.
To help business owners become more energy-efficient, Yü Energy has released a new energy health check tool which helps businesses to visualise their energy use and spend against the average for a business of the same size and sector in aid of helping reduce energy waste and cut costs.
The tool involves analysing thousands of energy records to calculate whether a business’ energy usage is normal or excessive for its size and type. The tool is simple to use and provides results within a few clicks.
With over half (54%) of industrial businesses agreeing that being more energy efficient is something they are actively working on, Yu Energy’s new tool gives business owners a head start to see how efficient their current usage is and how much money they could be saving.
Although many industrial businesses admit to having energy monitoring methods in place, almost two thirds also use energy-efficient lighting (62%), switch unused devices off at the plug (50%) and use energy-efficient appliances (43%). Half (46%) of business owners however don’t know their business’ EPC rating.
Businesses with a better EPC rating of (A to C) will typically save more on their energy bills compared to the average business in their sector. Highlighting the monetary benefits that energy efficiency measures can bring.
Simon Smith, Director Sales and Marketing at Yü Energy said: “The industrial sector really has been impacted this year and businesses are looking for ways to save money more than ever to survive the pandemic. Being more energy-efficient and checking they are not paying over the odds for their energy can save hundreds of pounds on energy bills. That’s why now is the perfect time for businesses to take control of their energy use.
“Our latest energy health check tool is a quick and easy way for business to see how their energy use compares against their competitors and to see how much money they could be saving. We want to help businesses visualize their energy usage against the average for their sector and provide insights on how improving their business’ EPC rating can result in huge savings on energy bills.
“As businesses head into one of the toughest winters they have been faced with, implementing energy cost-saving factors such as switching unused devices off, installing smart meters and switching energy providers could be the simplest solutions to reducing hefty winter energy bills.”
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