Wilko
Proactive energy management
Bespoke cloud hosted monitoring and targeting
Smart energy alarms for each individual store
Huge cost-saving for the brand
The problem
With over 400 stores across the UK, it’s safe to say that Wilko’s energy consumption was significant. However, with concerns around increasing energy bills, it was key to know how and where they were using energy, so they could take the necessary steps to reduce their usage.
The concept
Wilko were looking for a cost effective solution to get them quick visibility of their consumption trends, with multi level reporting available for their different teams. They also needed support in implementing the findings of the platform and communicating issues to the relevant people for action.
Thermatic Energy started working us in 2021, supporting us through building a bespoke AM&T package which uses the half hourly data from our energy supplier to create interactive dashboards and alarms for our stores and regional managers.
The solution
We created a bespoke cloud hosted monitoring and targeting package for Wilko, which allowed energy reporting for various levels within their business. This kept the data presented relevant for the person looking at it. The platform provides ‘day +1’ half hourly consumption data straight from their energy supplier, which meant they didn’t need any additional hardware installations onsite – a huge cost saving for them.
Once Wilko’s historic data was received, we conducted a full analysis to create smart energy alarms for each individual store. This involved us reviewing their past performance against previous weather conditions and opening hours, so we could start to predict what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ energy usage looked like for each site. This could then be used as a proactive energy alarm to direct attention to problem areas.
We designed the platform to be completely owned by Wilko, rather than a system based on annual subscriptions. This made the platform an asset they could continue to keep running over time, with minimal running costs.
As there was no internal energy management team, our energy centre managed the day-to-day activity for Wilko, this included:
- Reviewing the daily energy alarms and investigating them with either the store manager, their remote BEMS bureau or their HVAC providers – often proactive issues were down to works being completed onsite and their systems being left on override 24/7
- Managing a dedicated phone line and email to manage Wilko’s queries
- Managing IT security
- Managing user requirements and setup
- Providing high level monthly reports on overall estate performance.
They provide a proactive energy bureau service around this, which means they are interacting with high consuming stores on a daily basis, specifically targeting energy alarms and preventing long term unnecessary usage. We have a really positive response from our teams around the reporting and information provided by Thermatic Energy, allowing us to be more engaged around our energy consumption and carbon footprint. Lee Repsch, Contracts Manager.
Delivery
We delivered the initial project of building the bespoke platform within eight weeks, followed with proactive support from our energy bureau team on an annual support contract. Now the system is in place, it is able to manage 400+ stores, and around 1,000 meters, to keep energy consumption under control. By reviewing and resolving Wilko’s high energy consumption quickly and effectively, the stores were able to make a calculated proactive saving of £1.8 million annually, as opposed to these issues going undetected.
If you’d like some advice or need more information about what we do at Thermatic Energy Services,
get in touch by contacting us today.
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