As we enter a new year we all find ourselves with a common problem – rapidly increasing electricity prices! You may be lucky to have a fixed price deal, however it’s only a matter of time before you will have to renew.
So what can you do? Well lots of things really. Switching lighting for LEDs is much cheaper than it was even 5 years ago. Installing chiller doors, we have had ours for years and no, sales have not been impacted. Increasing the temperature of your drinks chillers, just how cold does beer need to be? An increase of a few degrees from say 4 to 7 can result in excellent savings.
Many of you may have done most of the above already, if not, the install costs may be a bit much after the last few years. So what can you do next?
The humble smart plug may be worth a try! You can pick these up for less than £10 each. If you feel unhappy with the unknown brands, both Philips and TP-link offer them. For us, we went down the cheap and cheerful route!
So how do we use them to save electricity? We connect them to display monitors, office fans and heaters, bug zappers, CCTV recorders etc… Once set up you can use them you can use them on basic timer function, so they turn-off automatically each night and back on again in the morning when you open. They are easy to change the settings on so that you can adjust for bank holidays etc… You never have to think, did someone leave the heater on overnight? For CCTV monitors in the ceiling these can have hard to reach power buttons, smart plugs give you access without ladders. Why do we use them on our CCTV recorders? Well once in a while they may need a power restart, which is easier via my iPhone as we have our system mounted high-up for security. We also use them on standalone drinks chillers, to make sure they are not running all night burning money!
Smart plugs are a cheap and quick solution which anyone can put into place quickly without the need for contractors. The added benefit for me is I now have more control from home than ever before. CCTV frozen? I can restart the system remotely even if my Teamviewer access (remote desktop software) is not responding.
What about more serious equipment running on say a fused spur? We have installed Wi-Fi controlled ones from a company called “Timeguard.” You will find these for less than £60, once again giving you all the same benefits of smart plugs. They work as a straight swap for a standard fused spur – however you need to be competent person to do this! Not sure? Call an electrician.
Got any other ideas, tips or suggestions? Please do share ideas, we’re always looking for new ways to save!
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