How can businesses save energy?

Businesses of all sizes are under pressure to cut costs and carbon — and energy is often the fastest place to start. From behavioural changes to smart technology, there are multiple ways to reduce consumption without compromising operations.

Here are the most effective ways to save energy in your business.

1. Monitor your usage

You can’t reduce what you can’t see. The first step to saving energy is understanding how and where it’s being used.

Start by:

• Reviewing your utility bills and patterns
• Installing sub-metering where usage is unclear
• Using an energy management system to track performance

Tools like EMMA AI go further by using artificial intelligence to detect patterns, inefficiencies, and anomalies across your estate.

Learn more: What is energy monitoring, and why is it important?

2. Identify and eliminate waste

Once you can see what’s happening, you can fix what’s going wrong. Most energy waste comes from equipment or systems running when they shouldn’t.

Examples include:

• Lighting left on in empty spaces
• HVAC systems operating out of hours
• Poorly configured control systems
• Equipment cycling unnecessarily

These are often quick wins – no capital investment needed.

Also see: What is an AI energy management system?

3. Optimise building controls

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are among the biggest energy users in commercial buildings. Check that:

• Timings align with actual occupancy
• Setpoints are appropriate for the season
• Systems aren’t competing (e.g. heating and cooling)

Even small tweaks can make a big impact over time.

4. Involve your team

Behavioural change still plays a vital role in energy reduction. Raising awareness and giving staff the tools to take action helps embed a culture of efficiency.

Ideas include:

• Running internal energy-saving campaigns
• Setting departmental targets
• Rewarding energy-saving behaviours

5. Maintain your equipment

Preventative maintenance ensures systems run efficiently. Dirty filters, worn components, or sensor failures can cause systems to consume more energy than necessary.

Link energy reviews with your FM schedule to ensure underperforming equipment is flagged and fixed.

6. Invest strategically

Once quick wins have been exhausted, energy data can support business cases for larger projects – like LED upgrades, insulation, heat pumps, or solar.

Having reliable usage data means you can model return on investment and prioritise where to act first.

Next read: Ways businesses can save energy

Start small, think big

From fine-tuning settings to long-term investments, energy savings are available at every level. Want help identifying where to start? Let’s talk about how EMMA AI can uncover savings across your estate.

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