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Save resources
Tourism businesses spend a fortune on energy bills each year, and these costs cut into your profits. Simple steps can be implemented to save money dramatically. More importantly, saving energy will reduce environmental damage.
How your business can save energy
- Switch off lights in empty rooms
- Make the most of natural light
- Replace bulbs for energy saving ones
- Use lighting timers
- Use light sensitive systems (if a room is well lit by natural light, no electrical lighting may be required – can also be used outdoors)
- Movement detectors for lighting
- Are your fridge doors sealed tightly?
- Use small 1000W kettles in guest rooms
- High efficiency boiler
- Don’t heat vacant rooms
- Don’t block radiators
- Use heavy curtains or curtain linings to prevent heat escaping
- Turn down heating thermostat to 19-20 C
- Insulate roof
- Insulate hot water tank
- Double glazing and sufficient window sealing
- Door sealing or draft excluders
- Think about installing solar panels for water heating
- Set hot water thermostat to 60 C
LightingWhether it’s in guest accommodation, public areas or staff areas behind the scenes, lighting is an easy way to cut down on your energy usage. Ensure that all lights are turned off when they are not needed. If lights are on, these should all be energy efficient light bulbs. There is no excuse for not using low energy bulbs nowadays, the cost of these have dramatically reduced and are very affordable. They also have a much longer lifecycle so over time buying these bulbs will prove more cost effective.
Heating and Insulation
If your building is not properly insulated you could be wasting money on heating costs. Insulation implementation can vary in price depending on the method. Low cost measures could include draft proofing doors, medium cost could include floor insulation and higher costs would include double glazing and loft insulation.
Effective insulation is crucial in heating efficiency. It is important to check whether your boiler is a high efficiency condensing boiler and, if it isn’t, you could save money in the long term by investing in a new one.
Install heating timers so that your business is not being unnecessarily heated during quiet times. You can also simply reduce your thermostat by a few degrees.
General Energy
In areas that are difficult to monitor, such as guest rooms, sensory systems could be put in place so that when the room is occupied energy is available to use, and when unoccupied all energy is turned off. For smaller businesses this may seem like an expensive option to implement, but the system would pay for itself within an estimated two years.
If you decide not to implement one of these systems, simple signage to remind guests to turn off appliances could be displayed. Cleaners entering these areas should also be vigilant and turn off appliances and lighting when the rooms are unoccupied with guests.
Renewable ResourcesSourcing your energy from renewable resources such as solar energy, ground source heating or biomass, could help protect the planet from climate change. Use of non-renewable resources, such as coal and oil, releases lots of nasty emissions into the atmosphere, damaging our environment, and they’re also running out fast. Switching to renewable energy sources is a step in the right direction. You can install your very own source of renewable energy to become more self sufficient or you can even switch your energy provider to one that is more green.
Further advice
Energy Saving Trust have a very useful website which details all possible ways to save energy - from ways to cut back, to guidance on installing renewable energy sources.
