Galway firms get money-saving tips on how to slash bills

Galway businesses have been finding out about the latest ways to cut their energy costs at a special energy efficiency briefing held by competitive energy provider Energia.

The briefings held with Galway Chamber of Commerce are designed to educate businesses about energy efficiency, allowing them to further reduce their energy costs. The purpose of this training is to help companies develop and implement their own energy management systems, helping them cut their energy bills and CO2 emissions by up to 20%.

Businesses that attended included The Harbour Hotel, Hennelly Finance, Cantec, Acorn Life, DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald and Clayton Hotel.

Cormac Mannion, Energy Services Manager, Energia commented: “Energia has developed considerable expertise in the area of energy efficiency training. We have helped to boost many businesses’ competitiveness by giving them the knowledge and tools that help them save money by reducing their energy consumption.

“There are also valuable environmental benefits – by reducing their usage by 10%, each company will significantly reduce their annual CO2 emissions.

“This work can be carried out under Energia’s “Cash for Kilowatts” scheme that provides grant funding to companies for energy efficiency projects. It means that any company can qualify for grant funding of up to 30% of the project value. The new scheme is open to all businesses, whether or not they are customers of Energia.”

As well as benefitting from the generous grants, businesses will also make very significant ongoing savings through the energy efficiency projects. For example:

■ Lighting: LED and high efficiency lighting can typically reduce your lighting costs by up to 75%

■ Heating: a new boiler or heating controls can save over 25% of your annual fuel costs

■Refrigeration: new systems can reduce your costs by up to 30%

In addition, Energia will also provide expertise and assistance with implementation of projects.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.