A COUNTY Durham engineering company has reduced its energy bill by thousands of pounds after switching to energy efficient lighting.

Dyer Engineering contacted the Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP), led by Durham County Council and supported by the European Regional Development Fund, and took advantage of a free energy audit.

After completing an audit on premises and equipment, the BEEP team found that replacing the existing lighting across the production facilities would be the most cost-effective area for improvement.

The lights were running 24 hours a day six days a week incurring significant costs each year but after taking the advice and collaborating with Carbon8Lighting who replaced the original fittings with a range of specialised Discus Gen2 high bay fittings, the company is saving around £30,000 in annual energy costs.

The Stanley-based company’s total lighting consumption has reduced by more than 220,000kWh per year and it was awarded a £9,954 grant from BEEP to help reduce the payback period of its LED lighting improvements to under 12 months.

Graeme Parkins, managing director at Dyer Engineering said: “The BEEP team have been great. The process was quick, straightforward and reliable – everything you want when you’re running a busy business. Furthermore the improvement to the quality of light has been remarkable.”

Calum Baker, BEEP project manager, said: “Many businesses don’t realise the vast savings they could make by changing what seems a small part of the business, like lighting.

“Once businesses start to see savings they want to find out more.

“We’re now working with Dyer to look at improving the energy efficiency of its heating system. We want to help as many businesses as we can so I’d tell any County Durham SME to get in touch with BEEP.”

The project provides free energy audits, advice and support to small businesses across County Durham. Some may be eligible for grant funding. Visit beep.uk.net or email beep@durham.gov.uk.