Energy efficiency is one of the most underestimated and at the same time most important issues for the future of the country. Although something has moved in recent years, also thanks to the requests from the European Union that have pushed large companies, energy-intensive companies and the Public Administration itself to take the first steps that will allow for a better "relationship with the 'energy', there is still a long way to go. Also because in order to truly achieve the goals established at national and Community level, it will be necessary to involve a much larger number of actors, which also and above all include small and medium-sized enterprises and individual citizens.
as of today however, in order to achieve greater energy efficiency, some fundamental tools are missing. There is, for example, no adequate financial discipline to support private investment in the energy sector, but above all there is a lack of calibrated and extensive information on the subject that can not only create a real energy culture (to date absent in Italy), but also to make it clear to the reference audience that, despite the energy adjustment implies, in the short term, more or less substantial costs based on the interventions carried out, expanding the reference time horizon The investment made involves savings that have a substantial impact on the company and family budget. It should also be noted that, to date, There are already tools that allow small and medium-sized enterprises to become more efficient from an energy point of view without resorting to huge capitals, but precisely because of the lack of adequate information and training on these issues, many prefer to maintain the current status quo, giving up an important opportunity for innovation and development. In fact, often and willingly, not only do companies not know where to find the data necessary to prepare correct energy planning that takes into account costs and benefits, but in addition they do not even have an in-depth knowledge of their consumption and the impact they can have on the territory.
Confirming what has just been said, the latest data elaborated by the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, with the contribution of Ref Ricerche, according to which, despite the fact that the price of energy has fallen in the last four years, smaller companies in the third quarter of 2016 recorded an increase in costs which will affect the final bill, especially if this trend is confirmed by the results for the following three months.
SMEs and energy efficiency
What must be highlighted is that, for small and medium-sized enterprises, energy efficiency is not only a secondary investment option, but an opportunity which, if properly exploited, has strong repercussions on the economic-financial results recorded by the same company in terms of savings, safety, production and internal organisation.
It is no coincidence that last August 4, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of the Environment published a tender through which they invite the Regions and Autonomous Provinces to present support programs for "the creation of energy diagnoses in SMEs and make their energy consumption is more efficient”. For this purpose, 30 million euros have been allocated which will cover 50% of the costs that SMEs will bear to carry out energy diagnoses.
What is an energy audit?
The initiative carried out by the competent ministries is foreseen in the ambit of the transposition rules of the Energy Efficiency Directive thanks to which Italy has obtained important results in terms of eco-diagnoses carried out by companies. According to data released by ENEA on November 10, at the end of June 2016, around 8 large and energy-intensive companies carried out 15.685 energy diagnoses, a result that places our country at the top of the EU ranking of the most virtuous nations in implementing of the aforementioned directive, according to which by 2020 Italy will have to achieve the three objectives envisaged by the so-called "20/20/20 Package", i.e. a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% increase in the of energy produced from renewable sources and a 20% increase in energy savings.
To achieve this goal, Legislative Decree No. 2 of 4 July 2014 establishes the obligation for large companies and energy-intensive companies to carry out an energy diagnosis which provides a "consumption x-ray" of the company and indicates the lines guide to follow to become more efficient. The obligation is not envisaged for small and medium-sized enterprises, but despite this it now seems inevitable that even the latter set themselves objectives to be achieved, adapting to European legislation and preparing programs that allow them to improve the quality of the services offered, implement its level of competitiveness, while simultaneously reducing the cost and energy needs of the company.
What are ESCos?
The Energy Service Companies (ESCo acronym) can contribute to the realization of this project, companies that offer a series of integrated services and which, starting from the energy audit, identify the interventions to be carried out to implement the energy efficiency of individual companies . At what price? This is a question that will arise spontaneously for many entrepreneurs.
The price is the savings. That is to say, the ESCo prepares a plan of interventions aimed at improving the performance of SMEs from an energy point of view, not asking its customers to invest large capitals, but repaying the service offered through the total or partial transfer of the savings obtained thanks to the changes made. Simply speaking, an agreement is entered into (called Performance Contracting) whereby the profit of the ESCo is defined on the basis of the energy savings achieved through the implementation of the project. Taking a practical example, if thanks to the intervention of an Energy Service Company, a company manages to spend 50% less than what it previously spent on the electricity bill, the savings deriving from the energy improvements made will be donated in full or in part of the ESCo until the end of the period stipulated in the contract.
What do ESCos do?
The work of an ESCo is divided into different phases. It all starts with the audit or with the energy diagnosis, through which waste, inefficiencies and malfunctions on which to intervene will be identified. On this basis, a project is prepared which will allow SMEs to improve and save capital thanks to the use of different technologies. Subsequently we move on to the relative phase by the Energy Service Company to raise the money necessary for the investment. Once the contract has been signed, the works are carried out and the ESCo will continue to follow and deal with the management and monitoring of the plants for the agreed period, repaying its service on the basis of the results achieved and the savings achieved.
Energy Saving: instructions for use
To save energy and therefore also money, small and medium-sized enterprises can also adopt internal strategies that are independent of the external intervention of an Energy Service Company. In fact, very often we do not realize that simple and small precautions are enough to reduce per capita consumption by using energy "in an intelligent way".
Italia in Classe A has drawn up a real handbook, as part of a national campaign for energy efficiency, within which you can find guidelines on best practice to be implemented in relation to air conditioning, lighting, lifts and electrical and electronic appliances in the home and office.
As far as air conditioning is concerned, the legislation establishes that heating must be set at 20 degrees Celsius with a tolerance of 2 degrees. For cooling, on the other hand, it can reach 26 degrees (up to 24 tolerance). Each company must bear in mind that, for each degree centigrade higher than that envisaged by the regulations, consumption rises by 5-10 per cent. To avoid suffering from the heat or the cold, one can therefore resort to traditional methods: open the windows for a few minutes, avoid covering the radiators or fan coils, on the contrary, cover the windows exposed to the summer sun.
Speaking instead of lighting, what is important to do is make the most of natural light. It is recommended to install presence sensors that automatically turn off the light when a room is empty, a technology that allows you to reduce consumption by 50%. At the same time, LED lamps should be used in every office, which consume up to 50% less energy than fluorescent lamps.
As far as computers, printers, photocopiers are concerned, Italy in Class A suggests:
- buy products labeled "energy saving", "energy star", etc.
- set the "energy saving" function and eliminate the "screen saver" function,
- print only when it is really necessary.
The energy sources are not infinite, their correct use is essential for the future of the next generations, but also for the wallets of the current ones. Not taking it into account could be a mistake that we will pay dearly for.
