5 ways to help your clients save on energy bills

Note: The opinions expressed in Products & Services do not necessarily represent the views of ECA. Unless specifically stated, goods and services mentioned in advertorials or advertisements are not formally endorsed by ECA, which does not guarantee or endorse or accept any liability for any goods and/or services featured on this website.

With energy bills rising, you can offer added value to commercial clients with energy efficient lighting options. Here’s how.

Energy prices have rocketed – and it isn’t just affecting households. Businesses could also see their energy bills spike over the next few months, particularly those who have let fixed-rate energy contracts lapse. 

While there is no price cap to protect businesses the way that Ofgem protects consumers, business energy suppliers in the past have enticed customers with competitive rates – but with their own expenditure escalating, suppliers are finding it harder to pass low energy costs to their customers. Wholesale energy costs have spiked in response to global events, supply chain issues and availability, and average business energy rates per day have increased 73%, while out of contract rates have risen by an average of 100% since August 2021. Businesses have also been impacted by the Climate Change Levy (CCL), a tax placed on all energy that is delivered to businesses (with very few exceptions) in a bid by the government to reduce commercial fossil fuel energy consumption. 

To cut a long story short, businesses across the UK, in every sector, should be motivated to cut their energy consumption – and their energy bills – now more than ever. So how can you help them to do it? 

Commercial lighting is a good place to start. Lighting is estimated to account for as much as 40% of the average business’ energy bills, and there are plenty of ways to reduce lighting costs with new commercial lighting products available on the market. Here are just a few of the methods commercial lighting installers can use to get better energy savings for their customers. 

Install reliable LEDS 

The most obvious first step is to switch all lighting to efficient LEDs. The emphasis here is on ‘efficient’: not all LEDs are created equal, and there are still LEDs on the market that fail to offer the low energy consumption they promise. The first step is to find a reputable brand that conducts its own product development, robust testing and maintains stringent manufacturing processes. Recent tests on Red Arrow’s Polo X Bulkhead, for instance, discovered that a commercial installation of 150 fittings could save businesses an estimated £780 per year in energy bills compared to a seemingly comparable competitor product. 

Manual lighting control 

Providing users of a commercial space with individual on/off or dimming control (combined with LEDs) can deliver energy savings, enabling users to change light settings dependent on available natural light, the task they are carrying out, or personal preference. Whether it’s through the provision of simple local switching or manual digital dimming, manual controls are a flexible way to adjust lighting to users’ immediate needs. Studies have found that on average, manual controls have the potential to create savings of 35%, as people often choose illuminance levels lower than those recommended by lighting standards. However, this is reliant on user behaviour.

Daylight and occupancy sensors 

Adjusting light output automatically dependent on natural light or occupancy is an effective way to reduce your client’s energy bills, that requires little to no manual input. Once installed, the user doesn’t need to remember to switch off or dim the lights: it’s all taken care off. This is particularly useful for lower occupancy areas in commercial buildings, in areas like entryways, stairwells and corridors, or office areas with a high percentage of glazing. According to research collated by London South Bank University, daylight sensors linked to dimming can result in average energy savings of 27%, while occupancy sensors can create energy savings of 22% on average.

Step dimming  

With step dimming, users are given two modes of ‘on’ – full and low illumination - in addition to ‘off’, meaning that lights are automatically dimmed down at certain times, usually in response to occupancy detection. In commercial properties, step dimming can result in significant additional energy savings, especially in communal areas, corridors and stairways: it still provides a level of safety and security without wasting energy when a space is temporarily unoccupied or out of use.

Effective lighting design 

Getting the right lighting design for a commercial space can also have a big impact on your clients’ energy usage and is a great way to add value to a project right from the start. Focussing on task lighting and creating the right illumination for the space, combined with the best use of the lighting controls listed above, can help your customers’ make changes to their energy consumption without them needed to even think about it after installation. Red Arrow offer free design services to help you design the most energy efficient lighting for every commercial premise: you can reach them on 01142798999 (opt 6). 

About Red Arrow Electrical Distribution   

Red Arrow Electrical Distribution is a streamlined, quality-focussed manufacturer and distributor of competitively priced lighting and electrical products to the wholesale industry. We are committed to providing an excellent sales and customer service experience, whilst providing a wide range of quality products. We build strong, long-term relationships with suppliers ensuring quality and continuity of product supply and ongoing product development. Our new 55,000 square foot warehouse allows our customers to minimise their stock holding and maximise their profitability.  

For sales enquiries, please contact Red Arrow:  

Graham.lewis@redarrowelectrical.co.uk   

0114 279 8999