Using energy — electricity, gas, etc — efficiently can reap significant cost savings.
Energy use in shopping centres can be reduced by up to 20%. Although energy consumption in retail units is under the control of the retailers, managers can insist on best practice in centralised areas.
- Look at bills to find out how much energy is used.
- Install meters and read them regularly to monitor energy use.
- Identify where and why energy is wasted.
- Make immediate savings with no-cost and low-cost measures.
- Set targets to reduce energy consumption, say, 5% per year.
Cost–effective energy efficiency measures include:
- Training staff to turn off lights at night, during closed periods and in unoccupied areas.
- Using timed switches and movement detectors to prevent equipment operating out of hours or in little used areas.
- Using energy efficient lighting, eg compact fluorescent lamps reduce energy consumption by 70%.
- Programming heating, lighting, ovens, refrigeration and air-conditioning correctly.
- Insulating hot water tanks and pipes.
- Considering automatic shutting doors.
Free advice and information on reducing energy consumption in shopping centres are available from Action Energy. Useful publications include:
- The Manager's Guide to Reducing Energy Bills (FOCUS)
- Good Practice Guide 134 Energy Efficiency for Shopping Centres
- Good Practice Guide 202 Energy Efficiency for Food Retailers
- Good Practice Guide 210 Energy Efficient Lighting in the Retail Sector
- TransportEnergy Best Practice is a programme that offers practical advice and solutions to help you improve the environmental performance and cost-effectiveness of your transport operations.
- For more information call the TransportEnergy Hotline on 0845 602 1425, which can arrange telephone consultations with specialists or free site visits, go to Energy Saving Trust
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