Enigin has devised high-tech ways for customers to cut their energy bills by 40%. It’s no surprise that a company dedicated to helping other firms economise is keen on keeping costs low itself. Miriam Grace of Enigin in Ireland talks money to allaboutbusiness.ie.

As keen as Irish company owners are to trim the bottom line, few realise they are wasting thousands of euro a year on unnecessary use of lighting, air conditioning, escalators, production facilities, refrigeration and other applications, devices or machines powered by electricity.

Miriam Grace and Michael Doherty say they can save almost any company money on their energy bills. They opened their doors as the Irish partners of Enigin in January 2009, having researched possible business opportunities at length online.

How does it work?
Enigin provides a monitoring system to allow business owners to view their electricity consumption around the clock. They can see how much they are spending and a breakdown of that spend.

Miriam and Michael then work with customers to identify where and how energy can be saved. All of the information and reports are delivered over the web, so customers can easily keep track of their energy consumption.

They also retrofit products to lighting, refrigeration, air conditioning and motor products to minimise their energy use. “Up to 40% of power is wasted when escalators or machines run at full power all the time. Up to a quarter of electricity bills can come from night-time use, even when there is no one there. This is a low-cost way to save energy and means companies don’t have install a whole new set of equipment,” says Miriam.

Keeping an eye on costs

Miriam and Michael both worked as managers with Waterford Credit Union for many years. “We’re lucky that we both come from a financial background, so we made sure to keep costs to a minimum. We also got funding from the Start Your Own Business scheme and help from the Enterprise Board here in Waterford.”

They also keep wage bills down by contracting IT and electrical work, and by using three self-employed sales agents.

Building up business in a downturn

The downturn in the economy is hitting every company and, understandably, some companies are reluctant to invest in energy efficiency programs.  Enigin is addressing this by offering a more affordable rental option of its service to customers.

So far, Enigin has been targeting SMEs, but plans to expand, says Miriam.  “At the moment, we are commercially-based, but we are looking at moving into the domestic market, with more affordable monitoring products for the home.”

Lessons to share
For Miriam, the biggest challenge to overcome was the move to being self-employed. “Maintaining our nerve and remaining in business in the past year has been a major challenge,” she says.

Miriam completed courses in renewable energy and in sales when getting Enigin off the ground in Ireland and recommends some structured learning to anyone who wants to start a business.

“Go and check your market first. Talk to the Enterprise Board, talk to the banks and do research online. Consider doing a Start Your Own Business course and, if you can afford a mentor, get one,” she says.

Relevant Links
www.enigin.com