For small and medium businesses, saving money where you can is essential to survive and thrive. This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen businesses struggle and even fold at unprecedented levels. During this period of financial uncertainty and risk, it’s never been more important to shave off spending wherever possible, without reducing the quality of your service. If your business is office-based, reducing your energy consumption and optimising your usage is an excellent place to start saving. Investing in renewable sources of energy may be a step too far for many smaller businesses, however, ensuring that your metering is as optimised as possible can go a long way to reducing your costs. Installing a half-hourly meter is just one way of making sure that you are only paying for the energy that you use.
If you are unsure about what a half-hourly meter is and whether you should have one installed at your business, we’ve created a helpful guide to demystifying the subject.
What Exactly Is a Half-Hourly Meter?
A half-hourly meter is a metering system which utilises automatic meter reading (AMR) and is popular among companies which consume a large amount of energy regularly. Unlike smart meters, which operate and communicate using wireless networks, a half-hourly meter uses a fixed-line to send readings back to a supplier. Where half-hourly and smart meters are similar, however, is that they both provide very accurate and automatic readings from consumers back to suppliers.
As the name suggests, half-hourly meters send readings back to suppliers every 30 minutes! This automation means that there’s never any need for business owners to provide readings to their energy suppliers and they can access the consumption data to see where they are consuming the most energy. The combination of automation and access to data makes half-hourly meters extremely convenient as well as cost-efficient and energy-efficient for businesses.
What Are The Benefits of Installing a Half-Hourly Electricity Meter?
Many businesses already have a half-hourly meter installed at their business. For many, it’s a legal requirement – but we will get onto that in more detail later. Have you heard of half-hourly meters but you’re not sure whether it’s worth getting one for your business? Here, we take a look at just some of the main benefits associated with installing a half-hourly meter.
Half-Hourly Meters Provide Precise Readings For Businesses
As mentioned already, these types of meters provide much more accurate readings for businesses looking to save money on their energy bills. Half-hourly meters automatically pull energy consumption data and send it directly to the supplier who will bill accordingly. This system eliminates the need for manual meter readings and evaluated billing. By removing all of the guesswork from the energy billing process, bills are more accurate and can lead to savings.
You Can Use Your Accurate Metering Data To Negotiate a Better Energy Deal
As well as saving money on your current bills, installing a new half-hour meter may even be able to save you money on your bills of the future. With one of these meters, you will have complete access to your organisation’s energy consumption data. With this data at your fingertips, you can show in black and white how much energy you use on average every month. If you decided that you wanted to switch suppliers in the future, you could pass this data on to your new supplier during the negotiation process to reduce the rate you are on. If you can prove that you use a certain amount of energy every month, it’s much easier for you to get a good deal from your supplier.
Analysis From Yout Half-Hourly Meter Can Show Opportunities For Energy-Saving
Not only can a half-hourly meter provide you with financial savings, but they can also help you save on energy to reduce your carbon footprint. Again, access to your consumption data can provide you with insight into where the majority of your energy consumption comes from and show opportunities to reduce it. You might discover that you are using more electricity than you need through what’s known as ‘phantom energy’ – the energy used by appliances on standby. If the data shows that this is an issue, you can put in place processes and procedures to ensure every machine, appliance and device is turned off at the plug before the end of the day.
Ultimately, You Can Save Time and Money
At the end of the day, everything in business is about the bottom line. The ultimate benefit of installing an automatic half-hour meter is that you will save time and money. You can save significant amounts of time by completely eradicating the need to supply manual meter readings. You can save money through automatic meter readings, finding opportunities to further reduce your bills and with the data which can give you a good starting point to negotiate a better energy deal. As a small business, saving money where you can is essential to survive and thrive.
Does My Business Have a Legal Obligation To Install a Half-Hourly Meter To Monitor Electricity Usage?
There are certain situations in which businesses have a legal obligation to install a half-hourly meter for their business. This is dependent on the amount of electricity you use on a monthly and yearly basis. If your business has hit an electricity demand of 100 Kilo Volt Amperes (KVA) or more, they are required to have a half-hourly meter installed. If you think you might fall into this bracket, you can double-check your usage by reading through your old bills and examining the peak demand. If you’re still unsure, you can contact us at The Energy Desk and we’d be happy to provide you with the insight, analysis and advice that you need.
Many warehouses, factories and manufacturing facilities will require a half-hourly meter due to the quantity of electricity they use. With machines running around the clock, factories and warehouses guzzle astonishing levels of electricity, so having an automatic meter is essential for accurate billing and transparency in regards to the amount of energy which is being consumed. If you are unsure about your meter readings and need some advice, The Energy Desk can help.
For Commercial Energy Advice Energy Management and a Half-Hourly Meter Installation, Contact The Energy Desk
Whether you or a small or large business, The Energy Desk can provide you with the assistance you need for energy management. We provide commercial energy services which can help you reduce your consumption, comply with regulations and save money on your bills. Our energy metering services ensure that you are always providing up-to-date meter readings so that your bills are optimised and you’re only ever paying for the energy you use!
As well as helping you to optimise your bills and shave off additional energy costs, we can also provide expert advice on renewable energy solutions. If you are looking into renewable energy for your business, we can help! We will analyse your business and property to recommend the best source of renewable energy for your specific business. Our impartial advice and end-to-end energy management services ensure that your business is as lean and green as possible!
To find out more about our services, please feel free to contact us today. You can find us at 10 Venus House, Mercury Rise, Altham Industrial Estate, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 5BY. Alternatively, call us on 03330 151 221 or email us at askted@theenergydesk.co.uk.