Save Energy - Save Money
The terms 'Climate
Change' and 'Greenhouse Effect' are now in everyday use, in our
school curriculums, the media, and our workplaces and homes. But
what does climate change mean for your club or training
centre? Hot sunny summers, calm waters and more days to get out on
the water? Probably not!
Despite the fact
that the earth will be warming, here in the UK we will probably be
facing worsening weather, damp summers and stormier winters, which
means fewer fine days to enjoy our sport. Increased frequency and
intensity of stormy weather can lead to more expensive insurance
premiums for clubs, businesses and boat users as more equipment and
boats become damaged in bad weather conditions. Added to this, we
are likely to see a rise in sea levels in the UK as ice caps and
glaciers melt in other parts of the globe. A rise in sea levels
could mean a loss of facilities, or marinas and clubs having to
make expensive alterations to their amenities. By the end of this
century, low lying areas could even be totally covered in
water.
So what is to be
done? Well the good news is that we can all easily reduce our
energy consumption and the Carbon Dioxide that burning fossil fuels
produces, and although there is no legal duty to manage energy use,
it does makes sound financial and environmental sense to reduce
consumption and cut emissions as much as possible. By introducing a
few simple, low cost energy saving measures, you could save as much
as 20% on your energy bill. Just think what resource you could buy
for your facility with that saving.
The first step in
managing energy use is to conduct a site audit and identify
where energy is being used and possibly wasted. This does not need
to be done by an expert and can be conducted fairly quickly
depending on the size of your site. However free advice is
available from The Green Blue and we have dedicated staff who would be pleased to help
you with this. Another option is to complete our online self
assessment tool, The Marine Toolkit,
which can help you to identify cost savings. The RYA has also
produced a site audit checklist
for clubs which can be downloaded here.
Once sources of energy
consumption have been identified, an energy saving plan can be
drawn up and measures can be put in place to reduce energy usage.
The most obvious sources of energy use will be lighting and heating
but clubs and training centres could also be using energy to power
refrigeration units, showers, hand and hairdryers, vending
machines, air conditioning, kitchen and office equipment. Many
facilities will also have power available outside for maintenance
activities.
It is helpful to conduct
a site audit at least twice a year so that seasonal differences can
be taken into account – e.g. if you conduct an audit in
summer, you may not notice if winter heating controls are set
incorrectly.
It is also prudent to
monitor your meter readings and energy bills so that any steep
increases in energy use will be spotted. If the heating controls
are set incorrectly for example, heating may come on at night when
club buildings are empty, but this would not necessarily be noticed
unless someone is monitoring the bills/meter.
. Best Practice Advice Leaflets & Resources Marine Toolkit
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