Enigin PLC’s Energy Efficiency Explained
Being in the industry, I now understand fully what is being meant by ‘energy efficiency’, what it implies, allows and why it’s a good thing. Allow me to elaborate on that today.
Energy efficiency, which is what Enigin offer businesses worldwide, refers to achieving the same result – cooling an office, for example – by using less energy. It can be used equally for small-scale changes (such as more energy-efficient refrigerators and PCs in offices) as well as for more efficient power stations or energy savings across a company’s supply chain.
When people think about energy efficiency, an iconic image generally - an energy-saving light bulb. These light bulbs, called compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, use approximately 5 times less energy than a conventional incandescent bulb, but produces the same level of illumination.
Though saving energy and energy efficiency are terms which are often used interchangeably, efficiency is just one aspect of energy-saving (sometimes called energy conservation).
Energy saving can also include, for instance, behavioural changes such as encouraging individuals to turn appliances off rather than leave them on standby, or technologies such as automated lighting systems that only turn on when they detect movement. Enigin have a system of their own for lighting, called LESS, which has been developed from the latest technology in energy efficiency and can adapt to the intensity of available sunlight in an office.
Energy efficiency is one of the 2 key strategies that governments are deploying to cut greenhouse gas emissions, along with renewable energy developments. The UN sees energy efficiency improvements as quicker and cheaper to implement than green energy, and such speed will be crucial to avoid reaching thresholds where dangerous, out of control climate change occurs, which scientists believe may be less than 10 years away.
Energy efficiency has a major role to play in cutting CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that improvements in efficiency alone could be responsible for 65% of the reduction in emissions from developing countries over the next 20 years!
This is great news for Enigin distributors and partners worldwide, because it provides a business opportunity and because such awareness will trigger demand. This will also in turn achieve the necessary carbon reductions so that climate change consequences are kept under control.
The UK’s Committee on Climate Change places energy efficiency at the heart of its recommendations for meeting the UK target of a 80% reduction in emissions by 2050. Public buildings, for example, will be encouraged to switch to energy efficient systems, such as Enigin PLC’s, in order to comply to newly set governmental targets.
Globally, energy efficiency could result in savings of hundreds of billions of pounds/dollars/euros for organisations and individuals. At a business level, the Carbon Trust suggests businesses can save at least 10% in energy costs through free measures such as automatically powering off computers at night. A 20% cut in energy bills is possible with energy efficient products, such as Enigin PLC’s, and sometimes this can reach 30%!
The IEA claims that every dollar invested in energy efficiency generates more than $4 in savings, with a payback period of about 4 years. Energy efficiency is definitely the way forward because future financial savings from energy efficiency are likely to increase due to higher energy prices arising from investments in renewable energy and higher oil prices. Higher carbon trading prices in future could also make energy efficiency more financially attractive for polluting industries, such as fossil fuel power generation and steel manufacturing.
Enigin specialise in energy efficiency needs for businesses and are operational worldwide, delivering the best quality in both their products and their customer service.