Energy Efficiency Strategies That Deliver Real Cost Savings

Why Cost-Focused Efficiency Matters Right Now

Rising energy prices and operational pressures mean businesses are searching for ways to reduce consumption without committing to major capital projects. For Ops and Facilities teams, this creates an opportunity. True Group aims to provide the right guidance and encouragement for operational discipline, optimisation and smart retrofits, outlined in this blog. Refer to this so you can unlock significant savings with minimal investment.

Measure: Understanding Your Current Energy Use

This is one of the most important areas to tackle. Simply put: you can’t reduce what you can’t see.

Identifying inefficiencies early leads to targeted, high-impact actions. While full energy audits or asset-level submetering can provide detailed insights, they often require upfront investment. A practical starting point is taking a walk around your facility and list every energy-consuming appliance. Take a photo of the nameplate (make, model, kW rating) and build a simple spreadsheet. This alone reveals surprising inefficiencies and forgotten loads.

As a rule of thumb, anything with a compressor (refrigeration, HVAC, blast chillers, air dryers, heat pumps) will almost always be among the heaviest energy consumers. Keep your eye out for lighting and heating systems too.

Things to Consider Before New Technology

Not every solution requires buying new equipment. Start with what you already have:

• Build carbon literacy and encourage positive behaviour change

• Optimise and schedule building assets effectively

• Use smart meter data to identify wasted energy

• Fine-tune major energy consumers for quick wins

• Apply night-time and weekend controls

• Optimise temperature set points.

Improving understanding and awareness across teams creates the foundation for lasting change, helping individuals recognise how their actions influence energy use and encouraging consistent, measurable improvement. Once this awareness is in place, greater value can be unlocked by making better use of existing building systems, such as ensuring equipment operates only when required through well-set schedules, timers and control strategies. Regular review of half-hourly smart meter data then provides visibility of how effectively these measures are working, with unexpected out-of-hours consumption, particularly high overnight baseloads, often highlighting avoidable waste.

Addressing these issues is frequently straightforward, as relatively small improvements to the largest energy users, such as basic maintenance and system balancing, can deliver immediate savings. Strengthening control outside of normal operating hours further reduces unnecessary run time, while fine-tuning temperature settings remains one of the most impactful adjustments available, with even a one-degree change typically delivering around an 8% reduction in heating or cooling demand.

Technology Does Help

Identifying effective energy-saving opportunities starts with building a good understanding of what works in similar organisations and sectors, supported by credible case studies and insights from suppliers who understand the specific demands of different operations. While tailored solutions often deliver the greatest long-term value, many organisations can begin by focusing on common areas of energy use where improvements are typically straightforward and cost-effective.

Upgrading inefficient lighting reduces unnecessary electrical demand, while improvements to refrigeration systems help limit energy losses caused by poor containment or uncontrolled operation. Attention to the building fabric (improved insulation and reduced air leakage) helps retain heat or cooling, lowering the load on mechanical systems. Optimising the way motors and driven equipment operate can significantly reduce energy consumption by better matching output to demand. Together, these measures reduce wasted energy, improve system efficiency, and create a strong foundation for more advanced optimisation over time.

Higher Capital Options

Once operational improvements and low-cost measures are delivering consistent savings, organisations are better positioned to reinvest in larger, higher-impact upgrades. The typical areas for investment include:

• Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system replacements

• Electrical infrastructure and controls

• Heat recovery and reuse

• High-efficiency chillers or heat pump solutions

• Building management system (BMS) upgrades

• On-site renewable energy generation, such as solar PV

• Equipment electrification.

Larger capital projects focus on transforming how energy is generated, controlled and consumed across a site. Replacing ageing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems with modern, high-efficiency alternatives can significantly reduce energy demand while improving reliability, resilience and occupant comfort. Upgrades to electrical infrastructure and control systems, including building management systems, improve visibility and automation, enabling equipment to operate more efficiently and respond dynamically to real-world conditions. Integrating heat recovery and reuse allows waste energy from processes or plant to be captured and redeployed, reducing overall heating demand. High-efficiency chillers and heat pump solutions further support lower-carbon heating and cooling, while on-site renewable generation such as solar PV reduces reliance on grid electricity and helps stabilise long-term energy costs.

Combined with the electrification of equipment where appropriate, these investments help future-proof facilities, support decarbonisation goals, and establish a strong platform for ongoing performance improvement.

Model This as a Strategy

Many sustainability roadmaps fail not because the savings are unrealistic, but because the case for action is not communicated clearly or simply enough. Boards are most responsive to initiatives that are low risk, deliver quick returns, and are supported by clear evidence. Leading with these opportunities builds confidence, demonstrates credibility, and creates momentum for longer-term investment. Each initiative should therefore be framed within a robust business case that clearly sets out:

• Baseline energy consumption

• Expected energy and cost savings

• Installation costs and payback period

• Wider operational and performance benefits

• Key risks and mitigation measures

• Supplier proposals and comparisons to demonstrate due diligence.

How Could True Group Support?

Uncertainty can be paralysing. You’re juggling carbon targets, capex constraints and boardroom scrutiny, armed with only spreadsheets and guesswork. That’s where we can become your most trusted ally.

We help you to understand how different measures interact, quantify both financial and carbon payback and assess risk through robust sensitivity and scenario analysis. By stress-testing options against key variables, decision-makers gain the insight needed to prioritise investment and move forward with confidence.

Your success means the world, so get in touch, we will turn your ambition into action.