Energy training and workshops
Training and Workshops
Practical energy management training for people who manage buildings
Short, focused workshops that help teams understand building energy use, identify waste and make better energy decisions.
Oxford Energy Services provides practical workshops for organisations that want staff to understand energy bills, meter data, controls, night-loads and common opportunities for reducing avoidable energy waste.
These are not academic courses. They are practical sessions focused on real buildings, real energy bills and real decisions.
Workshops can also support teams that need a clearer understanding of ESOS responsibilities, ISO 50001 principles, energy action planning and how formal compliance connects with practical energy improvement.
For wider guidance on building investigation, energy data and hidden waste, explore Audits & Energy Insights .
Workshops are led by Dr Russell Layberry, Director and Technical Lead of Oxford Energy Services, drawing on more than 20 years of building-energy research, consultancy and practical delivery.
Main workshop
Energy Management in Buildings
A practical 2-hour workshop that gives non-specialists a clearer understanding of how buildings use energy, where waste commonly occurs and what to investigate first.
What it helps with
Understanding energy use
The session helps people make sense of electricity and gas use, energy bills, meter data and the operational patterns that often reveal avoidable waste.
- How buildings use electricity and gas
- How to read energy bills and meter data
- What half-hour electricity data can reveal
- Night-load and out-of-hours energy use
What it leads to
Clearer action
The workshop is designed to help teams spot common problems, ask better questions and build practical next steps rather than just discuss theory.
- Common causes of avoidable energy waste
- Quick wins and low-cost actions
- How to prioritise energy projects
- How to build a practical energy action plan
Who it is for
For busy teams who influence building energy use
- Facilities managers
- Operations managers
- Estates teams
- Sustainability leads
- Finance or management staff responsible for energy costs
- Building users involved in energy reduction
The result
More informed internal energy decisions
The goal is not to turn staff into energy consultants. The goal is to help teams recognise avoidable waste, understand what the data is saying and make better day-to-day energy decisions.
- Clearer understanding of building energy use
- Better questions for contractors and suppliers
- More confidence interpreting energy data
- More practical energy-saving conversations internally
- Better follow-through after audits or energy reviews
What the workshop covers
Practical building energy topics, explained clearly
The workshop can be adapted, but the core focus is helping teams understand where energy is used, where waste occurs and what actions are realistic.
Electricity and gas use
How buildings use energy and how to interpret basic consumption patterns.
Energy bills and meter data
How to read energy bills, meter data and common energy reporting information.
Half-hour data and night-loads
What half-hour electricity data can reveal about out-of-hours use and avoidable waste.
Read: Why out-of-hours energy use matters What overnight energy use can reveal about hidden building wasteHeating controls and schedules
How heating controls, time schedules and operational settings affect energy use.
Lighting and controls
Common lighting waste, lighting controls and questions to ask before upgrades.
Savings claims and proposals
How to avoid being misled by unrealistic savings claims or weak payback assumptions.
Read: Are contractor savings estimates reliable?Quick wins and low-cost actions
How to identify practical improvements before jumping to major capital projects.
Energy action planning
How to turn observations, audit findings or data insights into a prioritised action plan.
Read: Energy management is not a one-off projectFormat
Delivered online, in person or as part of wider energy support
A typical session lasts around two hours. It can be delivered as a one-off workshop or as part of a wider energy management programme.
The session can also be adapted to include your own buildings, energy data, current challenges or recent audit findings.
Other workshop options
Targeted sessions can be developed around specific energy questions
Short workshops can also be shaped around particular needs, teams or internal priorities.
Understanding half-hour electricity data
For teams that want to understand load profiles, night-loads and out-of-hours waste.
Read: Why energy data still needs interpretationPractical energy management for facilities teams
Focused on controls, operating patterns, common faults and practical energy-saving routines.
Read: Should facilities teams already know where the waste is?Energy and carbon reporting for non-specialists
A plain-English introduction to energy data, emissions factors, annual reporting and SECR-style information.
Why practical energy management should come before carbon accountingHow to review energy-saving proposals
Helping teams understand savings claims, paybacks, assumptions and contractor recommendations.
Read: Are contractor savings estimates reliable?Heating, controls and operational energy waste
Focused on heating schedules, plant operation, user behaviour and avoidable gas or electricity use.
ESOS and ISO 50001 awareness
A plain-English session for facilities, sustainability and management teams that need to understand ESOS responsibilities, ISO 50001 principles, action planning and how compliance connects with practical energy improvement.
Explore formal energy and compliance supportPreparing an internal energy action plan
For organisations that need to turn findings into priorities, owners, timescales and follow-up actions.
Read: Energy management is not a one-off projectCompliance awareness
Help teams understand the responsibilities behind the paperwork
Training can support internal understanding of ESOS, ISO 50001, SECR-style reporting and energy action planning. It can help teams understand why information is being collected, what actions need ownership and how compliance activity should connect with practical energy improvement.
Training does not replace a formal ESOS assessment, ESOS Lead Assessor review or ISO 50001 certification. Those requirements are provided separately through OES’s specialist compliance support.
What this is not
Not an academic course
- Not theory detached from real buildings
- Not generic net zero awareness training
- Not a long technical lecture for specialists only
- Not a substitute for a detailed energy audit where one is needed
What it is
Practical energy training for real decisions
The sessions are designed to help staff understand how buildings behave, what energy data can reveal and what practical steps should be considered first.
The emphasis is on useful knowledge: what to look for, what questions to ask and how to move from information to action.
Previous training experience
Training shaped by real buildings, data and technical delivery
Dr Russell Layberry combines research-level physics, University of Oxford building-energy research, monitoring and software development, practical building-services knowledge and experience from more than 300 commercial building energy audits.
His previous training work includes 17 two-hour workshops delivered to approximately 250 museum professionals, alongside wider energy-management training for museums, cultural organisations, facilities teams and sustainability staff.
The sessions are grounded in real operating problems, energy data, controls, plant and practical decision-making rather than generic sustainability theory.
Good starting point
Use training alongside an audit or energy action plan
Training works especially well when staff are also working with real energy data, recent audit findings or a live energy action plan.
For many organisations, a Building Energy Audit identifies the technical opportunities, while training helps internal teams understand and act on them.
For broader guidance on how building operation, energy data and hidden waste are investigated together, visit Audits & Energy Insights .
See what happens during a commercial building energy audit .
Read why some energy audits fail to deliver savings without clear ownership and follow-through .
See how an audit helped a museum understand its energy position and practical priorities .
Training FAQs
Questions organisations often ask before booking a workshop
Who is the Energy Management in Buildings workshop for?
It is for non-specialists who influence building energy use, including facilities managers, operations managers, estates teams, sustainability leads and finance or management staff responsible for energy costs.
How long does the workshop last?
A typical session lasts around two hours. It can be delivered as a focused one-off workshop or adapted as part of a wider energy management programme.
Can the workshop use our own energy data?
Yes. The workshop can be adapted to include your own buildings, energy data, current challenges or recent audit findings where this is useful.
Can it be delivered online?
Yes. The workshop can be delivered online or in person, depending on what works best for the team and the format required.
Is this suitable after a Building Energy Audit?
Yes. Training can help internal teams understand audit findings, energy data and priority actions so recommendations are more likely to be implemented.
Can training support ESOS or ISO 50001?
Yes. Workshops can help facilities, sustainability and management teams understand ESOS responsibilities, ISO 50001 principles, energy data, action planning and internal ownership. Formal ESOS assessment, Lead Assessor review and ISO 50001 preparation are provided separately through Energy, Carbon & Compliance Support .
How much does a workshop cost?
Workshop fees depend on the format, number of participants, preparation required and whether the session uses your own building data. A tailored quotation is provided after an initial discussion.
Free 30-minute discussion
Need practical energy training for your team?
A short conversation is usually enough to discuss whether you need a one-off workshop, a session linked to an audit, or a more tailored energy management training format.
Contact Russell
Email:
russ@oxfordenergyservices.co.uk
Phone:
+44 (0)7803 397 549