The main benefit of outsourcing any management function is the time and resource it liberates for personnel to concentrate on the company’s core business and bottom line. This is particularly relevant to energy management with its constantly changing and complex issues that in-house managers need to keep continuously in mind. These can include everything from utilities procurement, fuel costs, energy usage and specification of plant and equipment to energy legislation and environmental conservation.

With the advent of the Climate Change Levy and the planned implementation of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, legislation is effectively forcing companies to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, both direct and indirect through energy consumption. For those companies that do not have sufficient need to employ a dedicated energy management team or only require occasional extra resource, the answer could be to outsource.

Beyond the environmental requirement, saving energy has several business benefits. First, saving energy means saving money. This comes through reduced fuel costs which have risen dramatically over the past two years. With further rises expected, this is having a direct impact on profit margins. Most companies will consider investment in energy efficient equipment in the same way as other capital outlay – it must have a payback. Through reduced fuel bills, this can often be achieved in less than two years; thereafter the savings go straight to the company’s bottom line.

Also consider that many energy efficient products are now listed on the Energy Technology List, indicating that they are eligible for tax relief under the Government’s Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme. Businesses investing in these products can claim 100 percent first year capital allowances on their purchase and installation expenditure, plus associated fees. This can shorten the payback period even further.

Secondly, nearly all energy saving projects involve improved control of equipment and systems, and that often means a more stable process – resulting in better quality of operational performance.

Lastly, where energy savings can be shown to reduce the company’s impact on the environment, this benefits by helping it meet both its own corporate commitments to environmental protection and legal compliance.

Given that £5 billion worth of energy is currently being wasted in the UK annually, the opportunities for energy saving are prevalent within most business contexts. Those companies with a high usage of winter heating and summer cooling will be in a prime position to make the greatest savings as heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems use notoriously high volumes of energy. However, these opportunities are not always easy to identify, particularly by those most closely involved.

The first action of an energy management consultant is to carry out an energy audit to review the current utilities management and do a site-specific analysis of energy use. From this they will be able to quantify the opportunity for savings that can be achieved through a sustained energy management programme. This may involve investing in energy saving technology or simply managing existing resources more effectively to eliminate sources of energy waste.

Saving energy may only be a case of turning down a thermostat or adjusting a timer, but this could have a negative effect on conditions in the workplace. It is essential to ensure that any energy saving measure does not compromise comfort levels. An experienced energy management team will be able to guarantee existing operational parameters, and in many cases may be able to enhance them.

Where more stringent measures are required, the team should be able to propose and implement ongoing maintenance programmes that not only ensure equipment is operating at peak efficiency, but also incorporate ongoing energy monitoring with regular reviews to demonstrate the effectiveness of the energy saving methods employed.

York International’s Energy Solutions team goes further than this. Although our main focus is on air conditioning, refrigeration and associated pumps, fans and controls, we can tailor our remit to include all site services – process, heating, lighting and so on. York will formulate a strategy to ensure all opportunities for saving energy are practicable, costed, implemented and proven. We can also assist with the technical specification and installation of equipment. This will be followed by a robust maintenance regime that can be extended beyond our own product portfolio to encompass all major brands.

By taking responsibility for reducing energy away from its customers, energy management agencies like York Energy Solutions allow them to delegate the demands of environmental legislation and dedicate their resources to core business activities.

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