Here is a 21st century conundrum that must be facing many at the helm of organisations large and small. You are squeezed for cash and facing rising energy costs. You know you could save on the electricity bill but you are not sure exactly where you are using too much power — is it the air conditioning, the IT, the freezer perhaps?

Now Oxfordshire serial entrepreneur Darryl Mattocks, who pioneered the Internet Bookshop in the 1990s and then sold it to WH Smith for £9.8m, has come up with a simple solution that has been proven to work at wokplaces ranging from schools to banks.

Using existing technology packaged (or “bundled”, to use the jargon) into a simple box, a customer — say the headmaster of a primary school, or indeed the children, can see exactly where energy is being used — and cut back exactly where waste is occurring.

The company, Energy Guardian, based near Thame, reckons that a typical primary school would save 20 per cent of its energy costs and recoup the cost of the box within 18 months.

But of course the dilemma for some, these cash-strapped days, is this —can you afford to pay out money now, even if it will produce savings in the future?

Commercial director Juliuan Fifield had the answer: “If cash is short we can run a rental model, rather than wanting the money up-front.”

Parent company of Energy Guardian is Enistic, founded in 2009, which now employs ten people and turns over £1.2m a year — and rising.

Mr Mattocks said: “I started Energy Guardian because I one morning about three years ago I came downstairs early one morning and found things left on all over the place in my home — lights, computers, televisions.

“Then I got to the office at about 6.30am — being the boss I am often first in and last out — and found the same story repeated there. And I simply thought: this is silly. The technology exists to stop this happening. What I have got to do is make it simple for people to use.”

Now Mr Mattocks’ problem is this — how to let people know that they can play their part in reducing their carbon output and at the same time save money.

One way he reckons he can get the message across is to “catch ‘em young”, and — literally — educate present and future customers, who will then themselves talk about their savings to their friends. In other words schools are prime targets for his smart meters.

He said: “Children very often see what we are trying to do better than adults. They understand common sense, and that you can play your part here without being a tree hugger.

“A head teacher can save money on energy and involve the children in the process.”

The long-term hope here of course is that the children will do two things: firstly, tell their parents (who might then install the home energy saving brand Bye Bye Standbye, which Enistic also owns); and secondly, instill the energy saving mentality into future generations.

Mr Mattocks said: “I believe people in the future will simply see this as a necessary part of everyone’s life. And there is certainly room for them to change their ways at the moment.

“I went into a school the other day, which shall be nameless, and found that a false ceiling had been installed.

“But the old ceiling was still there, above it, and would you believe it, the lights were still in that old ceiling — and they had been left on!”

He added that many customers, such as the World Wildlife Fund for instance, see the Energy Guardian as a way to help the planet. But they soon become pleasantly surprised by the money savings too — which in an older building with ‘untrained’ occupants can amount to 27 per cent. Mr Mattocks said: “The older the building and the sloppier the inhabitants, the bigger the savings.”

Mr Mattocks added; “We have carried out two studies on savings. One for the Department of Communities and Local Government, and another for IBM.

“And in both we have found that there is an immediate and dramatic impact on energy usage when employees know that someone knows how they are using energy.”

Without divulging specific figures, he added that the investment in both hardware, in the shape of meters, and software, to monitor energy use, has been considerable. Now Mr Mattocks is talking to various business angels in hopes of finding more cash.

He said: “We are looking for people who understand what we are doing, care about the planet, and want to make money. Easy really.”

Perhaps surprisingly, even worryingly, about 70 per cent of Enistic’s turnover comes from overseas.

Mr Mattocks frankly admits that he does not know why this should be.

He said: “It cannot be because the rescession is biting deeper here because we are selling well in countries with worse recession. And after all everyone everywhere has the same problem.

“But the only countries where no one is interested are the richer Arab states.”

Now the company is hoping to spread its message further by offering franchises and already, even before serious marketing has got under way, three franchises have been sold: in New Zealand, Canada, and Ireland.

It is clear that Mr Mattocks sincerely believes that his product is socially useful and can make him money into the bargain. Here is hoping he can spread the word here as well as abroad.

He said: “We know we have the answers. The problem is getting them across.”

Name: Enistic Established: 2009 Owner: Darryl Mattocks Number of staff: Ten Annual turnover: £1.2m

Contact: 0844 875 1600 Web: www.enistic.com