It has been another tough economic year for industry and on top of that businesses that invested in the CRC scheme have been left out of pocket due to the government’s decision to delay the implementation stages until 2013. However, according to research, almost a 40 per cent return can be made by implementing new technology and improving energy efficiency measures .
Simon Wilson, Managing Director, says: “Although now is a time for businesses and employees to relax and indulge, many forget that the Christmas period is the perfect time to implement new energy saving measures. At Express Data we provide businesses with tailored communications solutions which will not only help them meet the green accreditations, but will also save them money. We hope that these tips will provide businesses with easy instructions to help them reduce costs and carbon emissions going into 2011.”
So here are Express Data’s top five tips for an eco-friendly Christmas.
Pot-kettle-green: Don't just hit the stand-by button – switch off all PC’s, monitors, non-emergency phones, kettles and dishwashers. Around 13 million appliances will be left on standby in offices this Christmas – that’s enough wasted power to microwave 268 million mince pies. Yum!
Switch on to switching off: According to the Carbon Trust, switching off and unplugging from all electrical sockets over the Christmas period could save UK businesses £70 million in energy costs. This saving would cover the cost to build the new Leeds Arena on Claypit Lane!
Heating’s cheating: Reduce heating over the festive holidays while the staff are away. By keeping your thermostat to a level which just provides frost protection, Bytestart say you can save 8 per cent on your heating bill for every degree drop in temperature.
Mean machine to green machine: Make sure the last person to leave the office shuts down the printers and photocopier. A photocopier left on over the Christmas break will use enough energy to print 30,000 laser copies.
Monitor your environment: Monitor your network and its infrastructure. There are energy management and control systems that are designed to monitor network infrastructure and attached devices. Express Data recommends Sinetica: an eagle-eyed environmental monitoring system which observes power usage, temperature, humidity and battery life. Make the investment now and avoid a nasty shock on 4 January.