- Caulders Garden Centres investigated ways to reduce energy, water and waste costs
- The business identified nearly £10,000 worth of savings by reducing resource consumption
- Management has applied for an interest free Government SME loan to help unlock these savings
“The free service helped us to identify ways to cut back resource use and bring the site up to Caulder’s high standards for efficiency and sustainability”, Colin Barrie, Managing Director.
Caulders is a family owned business that operates five garden centres in Scotland. When the business took on a new location in Cupar, Fife, its management had big plans to grow the site sustainably.
Caulders approached the service to identify ways to upgrade its building systems to reduce energy and water consumption and manage waste more efficiently.
The first thing that the noticed was that lighting in the garden centre was provided by energy intensive T8 and T12 fluorescent lights. Replacing these with more efficient LED lighting could reduce energy use by 38,992 kWh a year, with an annual saving of £5,070 for the business. LED fittings also have a longer lifetime than fluorescent bulbs, reducing maintenance time and costs.
The business was also interested in using water more efficiently wherever possible. The urinals in the men’s toilets, for example, operated on an uncontrolled cistern, which would automatically fill and flush at set periods 24 hours a day, irrespective of use.
It was suggested that Caulders install a water management control unit with timer controls set to match the hours of urinal use. Infra-red or ultraviolet sensors were also considered to automatically control flushing. Installing such a system could reduce water consumption at the Garden Centre by 157.7 m3, saving £350 a year.
Options to install a rain water harvesting system were assessed, considering whether non-metered harvested water could be used to flush toilets and urinals. We concluded that a rain water harvesting system could further reduce water consumption by 207.3m3, saving the business £450. Theoretically, the system could also be used to water plants throughout the Garden Centre.
Finally, ways for the business to reduce waste were explored. Caulders Garden Centres handle large volumes of packaging waste, primarily cardboard. This is collected in skips and removed by a contractor at a cost. Purchasing a cardboard baler would minimise the space that the cardboard takes up in the skip, reducing the frequency of collection and providing annual savings of £4,070.
In total £9,940 worth of energy savings were identified, with a payback period of 3.3 years. Keen to begin renovations to its new site, Caulders applied for the SME Loan to fund its resource efficiency projects. The unsecured, interest free SME Loan is funded by Scottish Government and is available to help small businesses in Scotland make investments in resource efficiency that deliver big, long term savings.
Help for your business
Business Energy Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government to provide free, impartial support and access to funding to help small and medium-sized enterprises save energy, carbon and money
Whether you are just starting out on your energy-saving journey and need some pointers or are looking for expertise and funding to support your current plans, our team of experienced business advisors and energy-saving consultants are here to help. Get in touch today.
Get the case study sent straight to your inbox
If you liked this case study, make sure you sign up to our regular ezine, The Bottom Line. It’s an easy way to keep up to date with all the latest updates including grants and funding, free training, case studies, the latest blogs and other useful resources that can help your organisation improve its environmental performance, save resources and save money.