Energy Use – EquineIndustry

The Irish Equine Industry’ssuccess is renowned the worldover. Equine facilities operate allyear round. Outside of walkers,equine solariums, rug driers andother specialist equipment, thelargest energy consumption islighting and hot water heating.The main equine facilities aremade up of the followinggroups:

• Racing Yards• Stud farms• Riding Centers • Equine therapists• Equine tourism

It makes no difference if thehorses in question are BlackType Group 1 winners or 15 yearold geldings in a trekking farm –the cost of energy is the same.

EquineIndustry

Energy Costs – Equine Industry

The equine industry’s operating costs are increasing throughincreased energy costs. Equine facilities operate 365 days ayear. Many facilities tend to have older less efficientequipment.

Contrary to belief oil prices do not affect electricity prices inIreland. Ireland's electricity comes from a variety of generationplants consisting of coal, oil, gas, peat and, in recent years, anincreasing amount of renewable generation mostly in the formof wind power. Gas is the key fuel in Ireland’s powergeneration, with in the region of 60% of our electricitycurrently generated from imported natural gas.

Gas prices fluctuate throughout the year. Like any commodityit goes up in price and it drops in price but one thing is certain– year on year the cost to business users increases.

Energy cost fluctuations can play havoc on a facilities budgets.Longer colder winters can be difficult enough to budget forbut couple that with fluctuating prices and the challengeresults in ‘best guesstimates’. Energy costs directly affectprofit margin and unless properly controlled will result in profiterosion.

1. ProcurementObtaining and fixing the best pricing for your electricityand gas is a key factor. A fixed price contract removesthe worry of fluctuating gas prices when preparingbudgets. A key part of procurement is analysing all thecosts of your bill over the past 12 months. Digren energyprovide tariff and consumption analysis to provide themaximum savings. The unit rate cost alone is not enoughas this is only one component of the bill. The actual unitprice is derived from your total bill divided by yourconsumption – this figure is always considerably higherthan the unit rate. We provide full detailed proposalsoutlining all costs.

2. Energy Audit Digren Energy provide a sensible approach energyaudit. We will request copies of your business’s gas,electricity, water and heating oil to determine theenergy usage patterns. We then carry out a full surveyof the nursing home to identify energy use andwasteage. The audit becomes the blue print for yourenergy plan.

3. Energy AwarenessDigren Energy are committed to helping you get acomplete understanding of your energy requirementsand to help you develop the tools to create awarenessamong your staff and the nursing home residents.

4. Energy Plan Digren Energy can work directly with you to prepareyour energy plan and to provide you with the tools toenable your staff to implement the plan and to monitorthe savings achieved on an ongoing basis.

5. LED Lighting ProjectsDigren Energy work with a number of LEDmanufacturers to offer the widest choice of outdoor andindoor LED lighting. Our lighting projects are offeredafter a lighting audit and replacement design plan iscarried out. All our lighting projects include smartcontrol systems which include energy monitoring andremote access controls. LED solutions can reducelighting energy consumption by between 50% – 75%.

The best way to maximisesavings is to implement anenergy plan

How to make savingswith Digren Energy

Digren Ltd. Unit 5A, The Plaza, Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin Tel: : +353 (0)1 908 1700 Email: info@digrenenergy.ie Web: www.digrenenergy.ie

There are a number of ways to substantially reduce energy costs. These vary from no cost, to low cost, to highcapital expenditure projects. However, The best way to maximise savings is to implement an energy plan specificto your facility and budget. A significant barrier to using energy efficiently is a lack of awareness.

At Digren Energy we encourage the development of a plan that follows and includes the following steps toenergy efficiency success: