Green Investment Bank offers SMEs £2m to bolster their energy efficiency

Small and medium businesses wishing to improve their facilities' energy efficiency levels will be able to access £2m worth of funding provided by the UK's Green Investment Bank (GIB) and a private investment fund via the ReEnergise Finance's Smart Energy Finance vehicle, which has been set up to provide loans to cover the costs of improvements.

The existing funds should finance up to 20 projects, which are expected to be in the £25,000 to £400,000 range and could cut energy bills by around 20 per cent.

Shaun Kingsbury, chief executive of the GIB, said investing in energy efficiency "makes good commercial and environmental sense" for SMEs.

"Energy is a significant cost for any company, and putting in place energy efficiency measures will have a real impact on these organisations' bottom line," he added. "The funding model means that they won't need to find the capital upfront, and can pay for the capital costs from the savings they make on energy bills."

SME owners who're particularly worried about the adverse effects energy price hikes might have on their bottom lines should seriously consider investing in a high-end solution designed specifically to help them optimize their energy consumption, and this is specifically where the HeatingSave Building Energy Management System could help.

By using data coming from a variety of sources (boiler flow and return sensors, internal and external temperature sensors, occupancy sensors, humidity sensors, etc.),HeatingSave optimizes a building's boiler-based central heating system and helps customers save anywhere between 20 and 30%+ on their bills.

HeatingSave is also approved to work and save fuel within the Energy Technology List, which is managed by the Carbon Trust on behalf of the Government. It is also approved by the Department of Energy & Climate Change and the Energy Savings Trust and was specified by the Building Research Establishment for the energy efficient homes retro-fit program, called The Greenhouse Project.