Making Energy Savings by the Engagement of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise on Energy Management

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are crucial in every economy, comprising ninety-nine percent (99%) of enterprises and providing about sixty percent (60%) of employment. They contribute about fifty percent (50%) of global gross value addition and between sixteen percent (16%) to about eighty percent (80%) of gross domestic product (IEA, 2015). Individual SMEs use small amounts of energy, but their collective energy demand is considerable. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates SMEs to consume more than thirteen (13%) of total global energy demand i.e. about 74 exajoules (EJ). Effective energy efficiency measures can save as much as 30% of consumption, namely 22 EJ, which is more than the energy used by Japan and Korea per year (IEA, 2015). Therefore, the increase in energy efficiency offers a substantial value for economies, societies and SMEs. This research looks at how SMEs in the Sunyani Municipality take seriously their energy consumption and how energy management can help reduce energy cost through efficiency improvement and increase profitability and growth of their businesses. The study was designed into two forms. Firstly, the energy use practices of the SMEs were investigated. Secondly, the study applied energy auditing method to identify energy reduction strategies that can help reduce the energy consumption of the SMEs. The results reveal that, majority of energy consumers in SMEs do not pay attention to their energy consumption patterns as indicated by 92% of the respondents interviewed. The increase in energy consumption among SMEs could be attributable to the increase in electricity bills. The energy audit identified energy conservation opportunities that can help reduce energy usage in the various SMEs such as switching from CFL and T12 lamps to LED bulbs, replacing old refrigerators, hair driers and industrial irons with more efficient ones, and replacing worn out equipment with high energy efficient ones. The study recommends the use of public education in a paradigm shift from the use of old appliances to new ones in order to save energy and cost.