Articles and whitepapers

Going Green: Expanding Your Business by Saving Your Clients Money (1/3/2010)

By Malcolm Stewart, Kensington Home Technology

With energy prices set to keep on rising, despite wholesale costs continuing to fall, people across the UK are being forced to urgently reconsider their energy usage.

A common misconception is that the more affluent a customer is, the less they are interested in how much energy they are wasting. But given how many of our clients are now asking us to monitor their energy usage, this is simply not true. As a specialist AV installation company, we have seen an increase in demand from our high-end clients who are looking to enjoy their homes, without wasting unnecessary and expensive power.

In response to this demand, we have invested time and money in developing an in-depth knowledge and understanding of domestic energy usage monitoring and reduction. The service we have developed is already helping many of our clients to implement energy saving solutions, which are tailored to their specific property and lifestyle. Our recommendations have a short payback time, and the cumulative savings over a ten-year period can be impressive.

An energy efficiency service

The service Kensington Home Technology (KHT) has developed requires an energy reading meter to be installed inside the client‘s home, and for an initial survey to be conducted. We use the installed meter to remotely track energy usage in every room, as well as for each individual appliance or function such as lighting, underfloor heating, washing machines, oil burners and TVs. After a one month period, we assess current energy usage against current energy prices and subsequently recommend the best course of action to keep energy bills at a minimum.

KHT’s energy meter reading equipment comprises a hub, a meter reader and transmitter, and a computer dashboard. We can measure a property’s overall electricity usage by installing a meter reader onto the client’s electricity meter, which allows us to see exactly where, when and how the customer is using energy at home. The transmitter communicates wirelessly with the hub, enabling us to view the energy information collected online, i.e. remotely from our offices. A detailed computer dashboard (see screenshot below) shows energy usage over a specific time period, in different locations within the property, which subsequently allows us to make informed recommendations to the client, in terms of the changes required to save money and reduce energy consumption.

This screenshot shows the client’s cumulative energy use over a one week period. Energy use for individual locations of the TV room, workshop, study and meter can also be selected. Note: the pale red area, from 20th - 22nd February, shows a period when the house was unoccupied.

Realistic expectations

Obviously, we need to take a sensible and realistic approach to our clients' energy requirements. We do not expect them to live in cold, dark habitats; rather, we understand their needs and help them to live the way they want to live, but without wasting unnecessary power. If a customer wants their house nice and warm in the winter - which, of course, most people do - then we identify the need to change from, say, oil-fired central heating to biomass boilers. And if clients want the house and grounds well lit at night, then we recommend, and can install, LED lamps instead of non-energy-efficient fittings.

Further savings can be made through automation, even if it is using simple timers. For example, the following is a proposal made for a client who lives in a semi-detached house in South West London.

The owner of this property in South West London was concerned about the amount of gas and electricity being used. The house was built in approximately 1910, and extensively refurbished in 2007 by the existing owners.

House details

Semi detached.
3800 sq ft.
Recently refurbished.
Single glazing on original glass.
All new glazing argon filled double glazing.
Solid wall construction.
Three-year-old condensing boiler.
Three-year-old Daiken AC.
Ground floor heated by water-filled underfloor heating, remainder of house heated with radiators on thermostatic radiator valves.

Site survey initial remarks

Main culprits are probably lots of low-voltage down lights that are left on virtually all day, and hot water secondary return pipes not insulated.

Gas usage: £4000 per annum.
Electricity: £6000 per annum.

Recommendations and costs

Free-to-adopt recommendations:
* Reprogram bathroom electric underfloor heating to reduce cost during day (saving = £300 per annum).
* Change utility company payment plan (saving = £260 per annum).
Turn TVs and set-top boxes in spare bedrooms off at mains when rooms not used (saving = £100 per annum).
Total savings = £660 per annum, or £6600 over 10 years.

Inexpensive recommendations:
* Draught exclusion of front door (approximate cost = £200; saving = £250 per annum).
* Purchase of timer clocks for external lights (approximate cost £20; saving = £50 per annum).
* Purchase of timer clocks for multiroom music system (approximate cost = £40; approximate saving £45 per annum).
Approximate total cost = £260; saving = £335 per annum, or £3350 over 10 years.

Expensive recommendations:
Changing 125 x 50W low-voltage down lighters for LED 7W equivalents.
Approximate total cost = £5625; approximate saving = £2280 per annum, or £22,800 over 10 years).

If the expensive recommendations are not adopted:
Cost of survey = £1200.
Cost of savings = £260.
Cost of survey and savings = £1460.
Annual saving from above = £920.
Annual return on investment = 63%.
Full payback in less than 2 years.
10-year saving from above at today's energy prices = £9200.

If all recommendations are adopted:
Cost of survey = £1200.
Cost of all savings = £5885.
Cost of survey and savings = £7085.
Annual saving from above = £3275.
Annual return on investment = 46%.
Full payback in approximately 2 years.
10-year saving at today's energy prices (which will only go up) = £32,750.

Can automation help?

While there is an AV control system in the above property, it does not link to the HVAC, and there is no building management system (BMS). Installing an automation system here would not have a good payback, as most of the return on investment from energy saving changes is from draught-proofing and changing lamps. Automation systems do cost a lot of money to buy and install, but if programmed with energy savings in mind, they can be helpful in saving energy.

Conclusion

The above example shows that by monitoring the client's energy usage and making some simple changes, significant savings can be achieved, with full payback in a very short time, and big savings over the longer term. The key is in being able to clearly show the client an accurate breakdown of costs versus savings. This is very compelling and is likely to result in the client investing more heavily in energy saving technology, provided they can clearly see a return on their investment.

From our point of view, our new service has helped expand our business. In a time of recession, when people are very interested in saving money, combined with a climate of environmental awareness where people now understand that we do have to change our habits; our service has come at the right time. What we do is of particular interest to a lot of people, and as a result, we are being approached on a daily basis for energy surveys.

Malcolm Stewart is Co-Founder of Kensington Home Technology, provider of bespoke, future-ready home technology solutions for the high-end residential property market.

www.k-ht.co.uk