Energy Efficiency Savings for Small Business Owners
With many goals being established to reduce energy consumption across the nation, some businesses may wonder what measures they can take to become more efficient and even save money. National Grid has an exciting new program which can do both-promote efficiency and save money.
The Small Business Program, which went into effect in April of 2009, helps small businesses look at their consumption, find areas of efficiency and savings, install the new equipment and even fund a portion of the project cost. The process begins with a no-cost, no-obligation survey, which measures the hours of operation of the lighting and refrigeration systems. This information is used to produce an efficiency proposal showing both kilowatt hours and dollars saved. The report also tells the business owner what the total cost of the installation of new equipment would be and how much National Grid will contribute (up to 70%). The remaining cost is paid by the business.
After the survey and proposal, the business can choose to move ahead with installation of the new equipment or not. Should the decision be made to move forward, there are three financing options for the portion of the project cost to be covered by the customer.
- The customer portion can be added to the monthly bill.
- The cost can be financed interest-free for 12 or 24 months.
- It can be paid in full in one lump sum, with a 15% discount from the customer cost.
Equipment available through the program includes lighting upgrades, occupancy sensors, and walk-in cooler efficiency. Upon completion of the installation, the old lamps and ballasts will be taken away and recycled, and as a quality check, the business has an opportunity to sign a certificate of installation, noting the work was completed to their satisfaction.
Since its inception, the program has helped more than 2200 small business customers in Upstate New York save over 52 million kilowatt hours and 5.7 million dollars!
For more information or to get started with a no-cost, no-obligation energy survey, call 1-800-332-3333 or visit www.powerofaction.com/smallbusiness. Both options will put business owners in direct contact with the vendor implementing the program in their area.