Getting into commercial plumbing and heating can be a lucrative business move

Some recent research has shown that many businesses are costing themselves around £100,000 more they they need to be paying due to poor energy management. This means that for any plumbers and installers looking to get into the commercial sector, there is a great amount of demand for expertise from business owners looking to save money. The statistics showed that businesses who didn’t keep an eye on their energy costs were spending as much as £225,000 per year, whereas many similar-sized businesses who had a dedicated installer looking after their system, along with smart controls, were only spending £125,000 a year. Any shrewd business owner is always looking for ways to save money and increase profits, so making them aware that there is great scope for improvement in facilities management presents a great opportunity for installers to improve their income. Additionally, large public and private companies and organisations are actually obliged to comply with the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and reduce their carbon footprint. Some research a few years ago showed that large businesses were responsible for creating over 10% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas output. For this reason, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, introduced the CRC as a way of tackling the problem. Corporations covered by the CRC include government departments, local authorities, water companies, banks and supermarkets. This is a huge number of organisations that legally need to manage their energy output better, so again, the opportunities for the skills of a commercial plumber and facilities manager have never been greater. Money savings and legal obligations are not the only reasons that commercial plumbing is so lucrative. Many employees in offices will have experienced the problems causing by a broken boiler in winter or defective air conditioning in summer. A business that experiences these problems and doesn’t have a facilities manager on site to quickly tackle the problem will face a huge decrease in staff morale and in productivity. This is a business owner and shareholder’s worst nightmare, so they are increasingly realising the benefits of having someone who knows what they’re doing and can fix problems and source necessary parts swiftly. According to the British Institute of Facilities Management, facilities management positions are hugely increasing and it’s now one of the fastest growing job sectors in the UK. The Institute has also estimated the sector is worth somewhere in the region of £45 - £90 billion, so there has never been a better time for a domestic installer to expand and upgrade their skills in order to take advantage of the huge wealth of opportunities out there. Article by Benjamin Clarke