Inflation is predicted to reach up to 15% by the start of 2023. The resulting cost of living crisis and its impact on the public’s disposable incomes means it is difficult for dental practices to increase patient charges in order to protect their profits. So if turnover can’t be increased can any costs be decreased?
The most significant item of inflationary pressure is energy. This impacts businesses in particular as there is no price cap to protect them. However, unlike consumers, businesses do benefit from tax allowances when purchasing assets and this also applies to green technology.
An energy efficiency survey for your business is the best place to start and will identify the main areas where premises lose heat. These areas often require insulation or draught exclusion in order to minimise energy waste. From this, additional energy saving measures such as heat pumps, solar panels, boiler upgrades and other green technology can be considered.
These measures are worth looking into as 30-40% of heat loss can occur due to poor wall insulation or 25% because of an uninsulated loft space. Both offer potentially significant savings to energy bills.
Gas prices have seen much higher increases in cost than electricity and these face greater pressure with Russian threats to European supplies this winter. Bearing this in mind, alternatives to gas boilers are worth investigating with air or ground source heat pumps offering an opportunity to move away from gas based heating.
Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss the tax allowances available for any investment into your premises. It is also worth researching if any energy saving grants are available as part of the UK’s drive to hit net zero carbon by 2050.
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