Better results with better advice

• Pilot programmes show substantial gas, water and power savings for SMES in different countries and settings
• Typical combined annual savings by participants of around € 1 300 in one study 

The UK Carbon Trust carried out a pilot with 580 SMEs between 2006-2008. Smart meters for gas, water, and electricity were installed and benefits were tracked. For instance, a Dutch solar company installed smart water meters, which provided insight into its consumption and helped it take advantage of lower tariffs for non-peak use by better distributing its water intake throughout the day. And a hotel in Ireland invested in an energy management system which generated substantial savings options including a € 90 000 upgrade to its heating equipment. The hotel now saves 14 % annually and is set to recover the full costs of the investments in just 2.5 years.

Key results

Results show that the typical participant in the pilot generated around € 1 300 in annual savings by reducing water use by 375 m3, 13 500 kWh of electricity savings and 30 000 kWh of gas. This corresponded to 8.5 tonnes of CO2 savings per SME. This relatively high level of savings is attributed to the energy advice given as part of the pilot programme. For participants that only received the data directly from the meters, the typical savings were 60 % lower but still substantial.

Similarly, University College Dublin carried out a pilot in 2011 involving 58 SMEs with relatively high gas use (>70 000 kWh annually). After installing smart meters, these SMEs reported an average reduction of 5-10 % annually, representing savings of around € 1 000 annually. Having a smart meter led SME managers and owners to review their current equipment and made them more aware of saving opportunities.