Yesterday at a CRC Energy efficiency event (CRC independence by I-prophets) we heard that 37% of participants in the CRC are from the Manufacturing Sector, many of which will have only one single site. For many of these participants it is unlikely they will have a dedicated Energy Manager role delegating to Finance, Environment, Property or related roles.

So the question is will they have a disadvantage in the scheme?

For example:

• Resources: Without dedicated resources will they have the capacity to meet all the legislative requirements to comply with the scheme?

• Forecasting: A slight increase in Manufacturing production could have a dramatic effect on consumption – so will buying carbon credits be more difficult?

• Standards: The various energy reduction standards require clear energy reduction targets  – can they meet these to get their Early Action Metrics?

I do hope the next stages of the CRC will be well explained and communicated to support these organisations with the Environment Agency taking the lead. Registration alone is proving to be taxing, yet the latter stages especially Carbon Trading will be much more complicated.

GAIA  2010

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If you have a Half Hourly Electricity Meter and you have not registered for the CRC get on with it right now. Do not delay any longer.

There is just 10 weeks to go until Registration Closes and penalty fines may then be imposed. The process to fully Register requires more than just an online submission and can take 2 weeks to fully complete.

Go to: www.decc.gov.uk for more information and application process. For those business with consumption below 6000 mwh in 2008 will need only submit an information disclosure and the process if free. For all others you are charged.

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Legislation from schemes such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment/NI185  require ongoing energy savings encouraging business or organisations to challenge the norms of how they operate to find new ways to save.

Leicestershire County Council are doing just that by turning off street lighting where not necessary during the early hours of the morning.

There are many ways to save energy we just often don’t consider them because they have become an accepted norm.  It is now time to challenge these norms.

GAIA Behaviour Change and Energy Efficiency

August 2010

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The easy answer is  NO. Expecting AMR to automatically save money is like asking ‘will buying some running shoes help me be a marathon runner’. Having the tools is only the start.

AMR and Smart Metering will open up a world of information for companies to grasp on and save energy, but unless they know what to do with it or know what to look for it is just data. In fact assuming that ‘more’ information is better than what you already have is also a red herring.  More information is only good so long as it offers detail that enables actions you could not have envisaged before, otherwise it is just sub sets of what you already know.

Too often we meet companines in a state of data paralasis who monitor everything but don’t really know what it means or what to do.

If you are considering AMR or Smart Metering feel free to call GAIA for help. We don’t sell these devises – we help companies save money by using them effectively. Call us on 024 76 23 6446.

GAIA May 2010

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With the electioneering over and the negotiations away to form a coalition government it seems that the environment caught little interest in the recent election.

Maybe the problem is that all parties largely agree on the pressing issues of energy security and climate change? Or maybe the parties are less clear on what they will do to tackle these differently? With many new forms of energy efficiency legislation underway the UK market needs clarity on how they will continue these initiatives and what moves they will make to ensure the UK meets our Kyoto agreements.

GAIA May 2010

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One common misconception in energy efficiency is that a modern factory with modern machinery is energy efficient. Overall it will be much better then an old factory with old kit, but that does not mean it is as efficient as it could be.

Why is this? Well the key missing ingredient is staff behaviour.

Many companies run energy saving campaigns in small groups rarely interacting with the staff around them. If they do communicate their plans they often fail to achieve employee buy in.

It is important to get staff buy in as they are the ones interacting with your machinery on a daily basis. So if they leave machinery on idle or heating to early this all contributes to energy wastage.

For Tips on How to Make Energy Saving most effective read our Top Tips Page Here.

Posted in CRC Carbon Reduction Commitment, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Manufacturers, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Offices | No Comments »

With many large businesses frantically installing AMR devices to secure early advantage credits for the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC Energy Efficiency) there’s much talk of AMR but also smart meters. Often these names are either overlapped or confused. So whats the difference?

AMR stands for Automated Meter Reader and essentially provides Half Hourly data to meter points whereby Half Hourly data is not yet available. These can be Gas, Water  or (Non Half Hourly) NHH Electricity Meters. Note: By installing AMR to NHH Electricity meters provides Half Hourly data but does not mean you become a half hourly customer.

Smart Meters provide information beyond AMR.  Generally Smart Meters are a domestic product aimed at educating the home owner of how much energy they have used, what the cost has been and where they can save.

AMR devices for businesses are often then connected to Monitoring and Targeting systems, GAIA offers one of these alongside our Training Programmes. These systems can then educate and inform the use on energy usages within their businesses.

GAIA

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Wow what a turn out to our Behaviour Change Session at Sustainability Live and thank you to so many of you who had to stand up to watch our talk. It is great to see Behaviour Change at the top of the Sustainability Agenda.

As promised,  here are the presentation slides for you to read at your leisure.  Feel free to call GAIA for guidance on 0800 433 4040.

Click on this link to open: GAIA Active Presentation @ Sustainability Live 2010

GAIA (Haydn)

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Read Original ‘The Independent’ Article:

GAIA April (Haydn)

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Maybe is the answer to this. Installing AMR will help companies gain Early Adoption Credits in the CRC but only if everyone else doesn’t do the same. If all install AMR then the advantage is negated if your comparators also do it, so the only way to beat the competition is to act on the data.

GAIA Comment – How to be ahead of others

If you are thinking of installing AMR then you must think clearly about what the data can show you and how it can help you save. The best way to do this is prioritising based on the variability of energy per site. For example, what energy usage potential there is to save on the site and are the staff eager to support you on the chosen sites etc…

Need help deciding call GAIA on 024 7623 6446.

GAIA March 2010

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