We spoke to Archie MacPherson, Group Managing Director at Pilot Group, about how it helps companies reduce both their carbon footprint, and their energy costs.
Businesses, like households, are looking for ways to lessen the impact of the energy price rises, and energy efficiency has never been higher up the agenda. Knowing where to start can be complicated, particularly for those firms who haven’t thought much about energy previously, until it became something that couldn’t be ignored, whether for environmental or cost reasons.
Pilot Group’s Archie MacPherson says the first step is getting to grips with what an organisation’s energy use actually is, and where they use the most energy. He says: “There’s a plethora of solutions – building management systems, software, changing behaviour – but firstly, we need to understand what your energy usage is.”
He gives the example of something as simple as a company not realising that people are overriding systems and inadvertently leaving the heating on when they go home for the weekend. “If we can take back control of this, we can demonstrate a really clear return on investment. We spend time understanding exactly what the customer’s situation is and what their needs are, so we can make them aware of the products and services that can best help them.”
Reducing gas consumption
It’s safe to say that any business consuming gas currently will want to cut back as much as possible. “One of the best offerings that we have at this moment, which has been very attractive to our customers, is helping them to reduce their gas consumption, by working with them on how they use their gas heating, their air conditioning, their lighting, and putting better controls in to optimise the use of it,” Archie says.
This could be putting a sensor by a door, so if the door opens, the heating is switched off. Another action that can make a difference: if a building has gas heating with blowers, this will be switched off before it gets to optimum temperature, as it’ll use the residual heat to get there. “It’s about making the optimum use of their heating equipment, their air conditioning and their lighting to do the right thing for their business at the right time,” he says.
Energy management solution
Pilot Group works with businesses of all sizes, but has found it can make the biggest impact with factories, warehouses and other self-contained buildings using gas heating. It has also worked with public sector organisations. “We’ve done some great work with Merseyside Fire and Rescue. If you think about a fire station, there are the offices, there’s accommodation, and then there’s the workshop where they keep the engines. So you can imagine the heating needs, 24 hours a day, seven days a week in winter. We’ve put in systems that have been very beneficial for them.”
The fire station has the easy-to-use Energy Manager 2.0, which is specifically designed to control and monitor heating systems for everyone from SMEs up to large enterprises, causing minimal to zero disruption when installed. It features smart sensors and a self-learning algorithm, which can create savings by making your heating work more efficiently and reducing waste.
Data-led decisions on energy saving
When working with a new client, the first thing Archie’s team will look at is the data, which can be a challenge. “I’d say one of the things we’ve all got to get better at in businesses is having that accurate record and real time data.” Once the data is analysed, the team can see where any discrepancies might be, any unexpected peaks in energy use, for example, as well as getting to know the company’s drivers.
Archie says: “I call them the subjective elements – when you’re walking around looking at the location of heaters against doors that are opening and closing, or equipment being left on, but also getting a feel for the culture of the business. Because when looking at any changes, you need to embrace and engage everybody in it and get people bought into the process.” He says facilities managers won’t always know where the biggest energy drivers are, because they don’t have the data. “So we help them by asking the right questions.”
Maintenance and efficiency
It’s not only those with typically high energy use that are looking at making reductions either, as Archie explains, smaller firms are having to take action. “Let’s take a bakery as an example, they make bread and cakes and that’s what they’re good at. Now they’ve had this underlying cost of energy that has doubled or tripled, that’s now impacting margin as a result and going right up the agenda.”
Staying with the example of a bakery, Archie talks about how Pilot Group’s work can identify issues with existing kit, that could be causing unnecessary energy use. He says: “So, with the ovens, are they being regularly maintained? If you ensure the machines are efficient, there’s no blockages and no leaks, then that could save money.”
Energy awareness
Archie and his team are giving their clients the tools and technology to reduce energy use, and also becoming a trustworthy partner who can help de-risk the process of becoming more sustainable. Archie explains: “We’re pulling it all together and giving them a programme to show how they can get the best return for their investment and get control of their costs. If we know there’s a certain gas spend in that business, for example, we’re really confident we can virtually guarantee the savings.” And that success breeds more success, says Archie, because it gives businesses confidence and the momentum to make further changes to decarbonise.
Aside from energy-saving technologies and optimisation, Archie says businesses also need to be aware of their energy contracts. “When is it coming to an end, and is there a way you can work with your local community to build an energy cooperative, so you leverage the total spend? It’ll help a little bit, and it’s those sorts of things that we’re trying to encourage people to explore.”
