As a business owner, you have many responsibilities like managing money, advertising, running the business, and keeping it open. Controlling energy use may not be your main concern, but it definitely affects your finances. To understand how much energy businesses use, it's useful to know the average energy consumption of a typical business.
The truth is, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Average energy consumption varies hugely depending on several factors. Depending on what your business uses energy for can also factor into how you can reduce consumption.
What factors contribute to energy consumption
- Small offices use less energy than busy manufacturing plants because they are smaller and have fewer employees.
- Industry: Energy-intensive industries like manufacturing and food processing will have significantly higher consumption compared to service-oriented businesses.
- Location: Climate and building efficiency play a big role. A well-insulated office in a mild climate needs less energy than a drafty building in a harsh climate.
- Operating hours: Businesses with longer operating hours or heavy reliance on equipment will see higher consumption.
Average consumption for different business sizes
- Micro businesses (0-10 employees): 5,000-15,000 kWh for both electricity and gas annually.
- Small businesses (11-50 employees): 15,000-25,000 kWh for electricity and 15,000-30,000 kWh for gas.
- Medium businesses (51-250 employees): 30,000-50,000 kWh for electricity and 30,000-65,000 kWh for gas.
- Large businesses (250+ employees): 50,000+ kWh for electricity and 65,000+ kWh for gas.
These are just rough estimates. To gauge your specific situation, compare your consumption to similar businesses in your industry and region. Industry associations and government resources often provide average consumption data.
Remember, even within these ranges, significant variations exist. A tech startup with power-hungry servers could be a small business. On the other hand, a very efficient green business could operate with much less energy than average.
How to track your business energy consumption
- Track your energy use: Monitor your bills and implement smart meters to gain granular insights into usage patterns.
- Identify and address inefficiencies: Look for energy-guzzling equipment, leaky windows, and unnecessary lighting
- Implement energy-saving measures: Invest in energy-efficient appliances, optimize lighting systems, and adopt smart building technologies.
- Educate your employees: Encourage energy-conscious behavior like switching off lights and equipment when not in use.
How to reduce your businesses energy gas and electricity consumption
Although business consumption is always going to vary and sometimes high energy usage is necessary, there is ways your business could reduce it.
Reducing business electricity consumption
- Renewable technology - The introduction of renewable electricity in your business can massively impact your energy bills. For example, solar panels have been proven to save businesses up to be 20% on their energy bills annually as well as help them towards sustainability.
- LED lighting - Making small changes within your business such as the lights you use can have a massive impacts on how much electricity you use.
- electricity audit - If your electricity spend is really high you could always think having an energy audit done. The auditor will be able to tell you where you are wasting electricity and need to cut back.
- smart meter - In order to properly track your electricity usage you need a smart meter. You can then use this to reduce your consumption where you can.
Reducing business gas consumption
- Heat pump - with gas consumption you can also use renewable technology to reduce this. Heat pumps use a lot less energy than traditional gas boilers do and would be overall cheaper for your business.
- Insulation - In the winter poor insulation is usally one reason for higher business energy bills. To reduce energy prices consider fixing any older insulation or gaps that may be allowing heat to escape.
- smart thermostat- consider using a smart thermostat to keep your building at a comfortable temperature during working hours instead of having the heating running constantly.
By actively managing your energy consumption, you can not only reduce your operational costs but also contribute to a more sustainable future. Remember, there's no such thing as an average when it comes to energy efficiency – strive to be a leader in your industry, not just an average player.
Work with an energy consultant
Although it is important as a business owner you keep on top of your companies expenditure, including energy bills. Sometimes it's easier to let energy experts handle your bills for you.
At Resolve Energy, we handle everything for you from the business energy comparison to negotiating with various energy suppliers. This ensures we find the best business energy contract for you. So although understanding and cutting your energy consumption is important you also need to be aware of how to get the lowest energy costs. If you want to cut your business energy bills today why not get in touch with us here.
If you're looking to save money on your energy bills then why not get in touch today? The relationships Resolve Energy has developed with over 24 of the UK’s biggest business energy suppliers allows our energy experts to source the best business energy rates available for your company right when you need them. Request a free quote today and start saving money on your energy.
