Training staff on energy efficiency and behavioural change can lead to significant savings

A well-known UK retailer has managed to cut its energy bills by around £500,000 on its energy bill last year after training its staff to reduce energy usage, a recent news report has been able to reveal.

UK DIY store Wickes trained 146 member across 230 stores after store manager Neil Chetwynd noticed an overspend on electricity.

Wickes’ North West region saved £30,500 in a period of six months as a result of the energy reduction programme.

Mr Chetwynd said: “There has been a culture change. It’s about changing behaviour until the conscious becomes the subconscious. It’s great for the environment and it’s brilliant for our profit line. It has been an enormous success so far.”

HeatingSave Building Energy Management System helps support behavioural change efforts

Behavioural change is always a difficult target to attain, but this is specifically where the HeatingSave Building Energy Management System could help.

HeatingSave has a number of features to prevent employees from adjusting the heating controls and leaving them in setting that can waste fuel. The keypad and display on the front of the controller has two levels of password protection.

These passwords can be changed by authorized personnel locally or centrally using the PC software. The password programming meets the requirements laid down by the Carbon Trust, and the PC software is user ID and password protected too.

Naturally, employees do have the right to set the ambient temperature at a value that best suites their needs, and HeatingSave manages this situation by firstly getting the temperature right so people don’t feel too hot or cold. If employees do feel too cold, they can hit a button to increase the room temperature. The heating will be turned up for a while BUT will then automatically turn back – keeping the employee at the right comfort temperature – and saving the employer on their fuel bill.

If you’d like to find out more about the savings enabled by the HeatingSave Building Energy Management System, just contact our dedicated product team, they’ll be more than happy to answer all of your questions and queries.