Dealers could save up to £10,000 a year on property costs just by cutting energy use and £4,000 can be saved without spending any money.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in conjunction with the RMI and the Carbon Trust launched its Dealer Energy Efficiency Guide earlier this year and the tips are measures that can be taken in different areas of the showroom to help cut costs.

For the average dealership, electricity is 39.2% of total energy consumption but, because of its relatively high unit cost compared to gas, is 65.2% of total cost.

Lighting

• Switch off lights that are not in use.
• Make better use of natural light.
• Replace filament and halogen lights with LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs or Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL).
• Replace T12 fluorescent tubes with thinner, more efficient, T5 tubes.

Heating and hot water

• Switch off heating systems that are not in use.
• Close doors when heating or air conditioning is on.
• Save up to £8,000 a year by resetting heating controls on the boiler.
• Save £300 a year by repairing door seals.
• Save £1,000 a year by installing radiant heaters.

Settings and controls

• Save up to £4,000 a year by installing a building management system in workshop and bodyshop areas.
• Use timers for car park lights and save up to £3,000 a year.
• Save up to £5,000 a year by reducing the fan speed on air-handling units.
• Save up to £6,000 a year by adjusting air-conditioning settings.

Compressed air equipment

• Save £100 a year by enabling time controls on the air compressor.
• Save £1,000 a year by maintaining air compressors to prevent leaks.
• Compressed air escaping from a 3mm hole can cost up to £700 a year in wasted electricity.
• Track energy use to see the difference improvements can make.
• Energy consumption data is best taken from meters. If not available then use invoice data.
• Analyse data in comparison to historical data to understand how your site is performing.