From data to distribution, every step is a milestone along the net zero journey.
A major DIY retailer is taking action to reduce its energy consumption. Its methodology was to dim the lights by 10% and lower their heating setpoints by 2 degrees across all its stores to cut its growing energy bills, cut carbon emissions and minimise the operational expenses impact on its customers.
The action is admirable, and this initiative can be improved. If an Energy Manager who is responsible for its sites nationally, has been tasked with reducing energy across all its stores on a limited budget, they should look to use data driven targeting, rather than institute a blanket policy . A store in London that has same square footage as a store in Middlesborough will have different energy usage profiles. The first thing anyone should do is collect and review their consumption data.
We can manage only what we measure. Imagine if the National Energy Manager has access to half-hourly energy data across their UK wide portfolio. With SSE’s Digital Service’s, Business Energy Intelligence (BEI) platform, the Energy Manager has access to a suite of interactive reports providing visibility on energy consumption, usage intensity, CO2 emissions and enables them to compare different sites.
BEI can help the Energy Manager organise all of the store’s consumption data into league tables and focus more on stores where consumption levels are drastically higher or more problematic. Digging deeper, the Energy Manager can look at the time-of-day usage to identify what changes can be made to reduce costs. If a business is on a time of use (ToU) tariff this data can also be shown in SSE’s platform to refine the insights for cost savings even further.
The Energy Manager can export and share the league table reports from BEI to Store Managers to help drive culture change from the top and seek ideas on how to reduce energy consumption further. A similar sized retail chain implemented this initiative and said that the incremental changes made by Store Managers improved their energy usage and added up to hundreds of thousands of pounds of savings.
It's incredibly important to maintain a customer’s experience and wellbeing within a store as it improves the shopping experience. The Energy Manager can implement a policy of peak shaving by turning heating on earlier in the morning to avoid a spike in usage, then off earlier, taking advantage of a building’s thermal efficiency. This can be achieved automatically by the addition of SSE’s Digital Service’s Energy Optimisation platform.
Differences made by behaviour change and shifting operations is vital in enabling us to only use the electricity we need, as well as using electricity when demand is lower across the network. Developing these practices can offer opportunities to participate in local flexibility markets where you are remunerated for reducing your energy usage at times your Distribution Network Operator requires. SSE’s Digital Services can support and manage the process for you.
80% of the buildings that will be around in 2050 are already built. Using the analytics that our Business Energy Intelligence platform delivers, you can build an energy strategy customised to your organisation, and the buildings you operate in. With tailored solutions that SSE’s Digital Services offer, we can support businesses to act now and deliver a net zero future.
__Find out more about Digital Services visit: __https://www.sseenergysolutions.co.uk/distributed-energy-infrastructure/digital-services.
