ZEN Superheroes were a feature at the recent Reducing Energy Costs for Business Forum by Zero Emissions Noosa Inc. (ZEN) as part of Noosa Council’s Climate Week.
“Our ZEN Superheroes are the businesses within the Shire that are saving between 33 percent and 100 percent on their power bills by using solar and being energy efficient”, said ZEN vice-president Anne Kennedy. “We had three of our Superheroes, Di Henshall, Andrew Chapman and Warren Smith as forum panel members talking about their business decisions to invest in solar and energy efficiency.”
Award-winning interior designer Di Henshall’s advice for businesses was: “Always look to the future. Invest in solar to future-proof your business. Whether you are renting or own your own building, this is not only environmentally responsible; it is also a very sound business decision.”
Warren Smith, general manager of Noosa Marina in Tewantin, highlighted how businesses can make savings from solar and energy efficiency even if they don’t own their building. “We have 100 KWH of solar power, with one power bill from the energy retailer. Each tenant has their own sub-meter. We read it, charge them for their power consumption, giving them a 20 percent discount on their power bill. This saves them hundreds of dollars, especially businesses using cooling equipment, such as restaurants.”
Andrew Chapman from Andrew’s A Grade Mechanical in Pomona agrees. “Having solar we are drawing energy from a free source – the sun. Even on cloudy days we are still using power from our solar system. I’m blown away by how well this system works.”
