At a recent Small Firms Association event, Thermodial Director Willie Kearney and Joe Walsh of Bord Gáis Energy, set out some advice for small-medium enterprises (SMEs) on practical guidance for energy management.

Joe Walsh’s advice in the above video looks small in isolation. However, imagine that you had 20 PCs or more in your office?

Thermodial introduced a group policy or energy policy at our Dublin 12 offices a year ago, using Microsoft Small Business. A group policy is centralised IT script that is inserted onto the company server that commands all IT equipment on the network. It can force the shut off of PCs and monitors at a specified time, to save on energy when not in use.

“We saw a 10% reduction on energy spend after introducing the group policy a year ago,” says Turlough Kinane, Financial Controller at Thermodial. He continues, “We also added timers to our photocopier, dishwashers and printers, which bolstered our savings further,” explaining how straightforward savings can be made.

Timer a no brainer

The timer that Turlough spoke of is a 24 hour plug-in timer. They are widely available and cost just € 9.99. Purchasing several of these timers to shut off various pieces of non-server controlled equipment, around the office, is a no brainer and should result in savings.

Staff involvement – crucial

Finally, Willie Kearney’s recommendation on having staff involved in the running of the company resonates, particularly when trying to save money on energy. An energy champion needs to be appointed within the office and in turn, that person needs all staff to be aware and proactive regarding energy consumption.