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Earlier this year, British Gas launched their innovative Energy Insight Challenge, which had the sole aim of educating businesses as to how they could save money on their energy bills.

5 businesses were selected to take part in the challenge, and through 3 main steps, they were shown where money was being wasted and how they could make their businesses more cost-effective.

British Gas were horrified to find out that up to 46% of a business’s energy consumption when they aren’t even open.

No business can sustain these unnecessary costs, especially in the current economic climate, so British Gas decided to do something about it.

Thanks to the new smart meters that are being installed across the country, the challenge was split into 3 sections.

The first step was to teach them to understand their usage, the second to reduce the usage and the third is the important one, to show them the savings they can make and put that into reality.

By tracking the usage on their smart meter and showing the business customers how to make sense of the energy reports, the education begins.

Spotlight on the Energy Insight Challenge

There is also invaluable support

Available at the end of a phone if they need it. Taking on board this information and turning it into practical measures and implementing energy-saving devices showed them how much energy they could save by taking a few easy steps.

The Sydney Arms, a popular Dorchester pub, and 3 short yet fascinating videos showing their progress from beginning to end can be viewed on the website dedicated to the Business Energy Insight challenge.

They realized the importance of cost-effectiveness but never realized how much was being wasted by the likes of fridges, fruit machines, industrial microwaves, and extraction fans.

All their necessary appliances, and the fact that the pub was in a large Victorian building that cost a lot to heat, were their primary concerns.

The building was assessed by a British Gas analyst and advised the owners of the Sydney Arms where savings could be made.

By just making the few simple changes that were suggested to them, the Sydney Arms were told that they could save in the region of 10% off their energy bills, or about £887.

So far, in only a few months, they have realized a saving of 4%, or £345, and they, along with the other 4 companies involved whose stories are also on the website, are certainly glad that they were able to take part in the British Gas Energy Insight Challenge.

For the better part of the last three years, America has taken part in, if not led, the global recession watching its stock exchange falter along with several of the largest banks requiring the government to bail them out.

While the road to economic recovery is never easy, America has been making a substantial comeback over the course of the last few months in many ways.

One of the strongest reasons that America has been able to come back swinging is because news reports of its economic decline were greatly inflated and now the Dow Jones industrial average has seen a 70% increase in just the last 13 months.

Add in the fact that auto sales are steadily regaining ground, up by approximately 16% since 2009 when it seemed that all American auto manufacturers were doomed to fail, and you have an equation that is starting to look pretty good for the Western powerhouse.

Signs of an economic comeback in the US begin to emerge.

This strength is only exemplified when you look at the fact that the US dollar is once again back up and the US is close to surpassing Japan and Europe again in terms of growth with only India, Brazil, and China beating it on the growth tables and not as vibrantly as before.

The reason that it is harder to see the big picture and the great strides that America has made is because people are looking at the gloomier side, the after effects of the recession such as deficits and housing problems.

However, history has shown time and time again that America is able to take failure and turn it around with a willingness to restructure in an efficient way.

America has shown that there is always a way to rebuild from the ground up; the eternal hope that still drives immigrants to the country in storms looking for a place to start over.