Newton Aycliffe Workingmen’s Club and Institute, known as The Big Club, is reaping the rewards of energy efficiency after teaming up with a council project.
The Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) is a Durham County Council led project, supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to help small businesses in County Durham save money by reducing their energy consumption.
The Big Club contacted BEEP after its new management committee decided to identify areas of the company where money was being wasted.
The BEEP team carried out a free in-depth energy audit on the premises and identified the most cost effective solutions; replacing the inefficient internal and external cellar chiller units, updating the lighting in the building and replacing the outdated drinks pump chiller units in the cellar and bar areas.
The Big Club was awarded a 40% grant from BEEP to support the cost of purchase and installation of replacing the cellar chiller units with modern equipment.
The club also worked with the brewery to replace the pump chiller units, and took the BEEP team’s advice to replace the lighting throughout the building with LEDs.
Alan Nelson, joint secretary of The Big Club, said: “The BEEP team have been very helpful and always on hand to advise and guide us.
“We are delighted by the financial saving we are seeing through better energy management and the efficient equipment the BEEP team recommended.”
Calum Baker, BEEP project manager, said: “We were really pleased to work with Newton Aycliffe Workingmen’s Club and help them to make reductions with financial costs and energy consumption.
“Many businesses waste thousands of pounds every year doing simple things like leaving lights or equipment on when not in use or using inefficient equipment and we help them to understand energy better and make improvements.
“Through the improvements the club has made from our recommendations, it has seen a great result and reduced its energy consumption by 85%.”
The Business Energy Efficiency Project launched in 2017, in partnership with Business Durham. The team provides County Durham SMEs with fully-funded energy audits and advice and offers grant funds to support the installation of energy efficient equipment.
Businesses interested in finding out more about the BEEP can visit www.beep.uk.net or email [email protected]
• Pictured (above): DCC project officer Lawrence Callender, BEEP project manager Calum Baker, DCC lead energy officer Gary Stevenson and DCC energy officer Simon Baines, alongside Alan Nelson and Tom Brumwell, joint secretaries of The Big Club.