Just a facts that are worth knowing before your company moves to a different utilities supplier

As commercial and office buildings account for near to 33 percent of the energy consumptions levels for the country, it is very important to reduce the high levels of money that a business spends on utilities.

This is the case as a business can be spending way too much on utilities and by taking some time to make cut-backs they will be able to seriously reduce their monthly outgoings and also minimise the level of carbon production in your office.

So in order to help you achieve this within your business here are some tips to help you minimise your energy consumption and just a few pieces of information to let you know about the process of switching supplies.

1) Firstly, as the owner of the building you can arrange for an audit. This audit will involve a trained energy expert coming to your place of working and then assessing how much energy your company consumes. There are essentially three types of audits: there is the basic audit, the visual basic and the comprehensive. Each of these audits could seriously help your company to save money.

Visual Inspection - This way of having an audit is the least expensive method and it involves arranging for a specialist energy inspector making a visit to your office and performing a visual inspection of any poor uses of energy. With one of these inspections they can identify when a business is spending too much on their energy supply and can therefore give you some recommendations.

Basic Energy Efficiency Audit - This involves a series of tests using tools and equipment that can measure the energy output of a given building. By using this type of equipment the auditor will be able to identify sources of energy loss that cannot always be identified, such as the energy lost through single-pane windows.

Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Analysis - This usually takes the form of a computer analysis which can, within minutes, determine how energy is being lost in your office. A print out is then produced which gives details of where energy is being lost and how best rectify the problem, for example how to regulate office temperature and how to minimise energy usage.

2) If you switch suppliers you may even be eligible for a tax break. Not every company meets the criteria but depending on your location you may be able to qualify the tax break, which means a reduction in tax. This has become possible in recent years as government agencies have made the decisions to become eco-conscious by cutting back on the amount of energy that they use. You should therefore phone your local council and determine if there are any schemes in your area and then you may be able to seriously slash your office outgoings and increase the efficiency of your business.

3) Don't overlook solar power, as it is a viable option too. A lot of companies are now decided to move away from gas and electric and adopt solar power. They are buying the panels and putting them over their roofs and at the same time seriously reducing their costs. The very first thing that you should do is determine how much energy your business is currently using and if switching to solar panels will actually be cost-effective. However, your company may still benefit from other measures as a way to lessen the company's energy output even further.

By performing this type of assessment your firm will then be more informed and will be able to minimise energy levels for the office and at the same time increase office efficiency. This is also ideal if you are intending to sell or lease out the office as you will then be able to acquire a better price for the property. For example, there is a company that I am affiliated with and they recently bought a London office then improved their business gas prices and then on resale the property was worth a lot more.