Sustainable Sunbelt shows energy savings
17 January 2024
To tie in with the national Energy Savers Week that is currently under way, Sunbelt Rentals is promoting a number of energy saving practices that can reduce power usage, deliver cost savings and protect the earth’s resources
The national annual campaign is aimed at raising awareness about energy efficiency, reducing energy bills, and combating fuel poverty.
Sunbelt's Head of Electrical Services, Andy Gordon, emphasises the crucial role that businesses play in promoting sustainability through reduced energy consumption.
“Implementing sustainable practices gives businesses the opportunity to take control and effectively manage their energy usage and distribution. This ultimately leads to the informed decision making resulting in significant energy and cost savings.”
To drive down energy usage, Andy highlights the importance of an Energy Management System (EMS). This acts as a smart distribution board that can be programmed to automatically turn off devices when not in use. By leveraging this technology, businesses and sites can proactively control when to heat rooms, operate water boilers and set timers for when devices are not in use.
Matt O’Hara, Head of Clean Energy Sales at Sunbelt Rentals, highlights the importance of incorporating hybrid power systems to reduce energy consumption. This combines battery storage technology with a generator, ensuring a continuous power supply while reducing the reliance on traditional fossil fuelled energy resources.
The hybrid system allows the generator to run more efficiency by handling higher power demands, while simultaneously charging the battery storage unit for when power drops, therefore reducing overall energy consumption.
As power demands decrease, typically overnight or during off-peak hours, the load will automatically shift to the battery storage unit, allowing the generator to be switched off. This can result in a significant reduction of up to 50% in fuel and associated costs, says Matt.
Also, Kyle Rogers, Clean Energy Application Manager for the Film and TV market at Sunbelt Rentals, says that the company is extending the energy-saving approach to this sector, where both studio and location filming are constantly taking place. The need for reliable power is essential, and the business is exploring and implementing new sustainable solutions.
When Sunbelt was tasked with providing power for Sky TV’s flagship studios in West London, its Energy Team (pictured above) found that while the facility had access to mains power, it was not sufficient to meet peak production demands, so a storage system was developed to harness the main energy for when it was required. This again removed reliance on generators and fossil fuels, resulting in reliable power and financial savings.
Photos below show, from left, Sunbelt's’ Andy Gordon, Kyle Rogers and Matt O'Hara.
● Sunbelt has developed an action plan to transform lives and lead positive change across the hire industry to deliver a better future, called Our Planet.
