Start With Where Your Energy Goes
Reducing business energy costs does not always require expensive equipment.
Often, the best place to start is much simpler.
Find out:
What is using the energy?
When is it being used?
Does it need to be used?
Once you know that, you can decide what to change.
For some businesses, better controls may be enough.
However, others may benefit from new equipment, insulation or renewable energy.
The important thing is to find the waste before spending the money.
Start With Your Bills
Your energy bills can tell you a lot.
Look at the last 12 months if you can.
Then, compare the amount of energy used.
Do not only compare the cost in pounds.
Instead, look at the:
kWh
Your bill may have increased because the price changed.
However, it may also have increased because you used more energy.
Therefore, ask:
Has our energy use changed?
If it has, try to find out why.
Understand Your Normal Energy Use
Every business has its own energy pattern.
A small office may use most of its energy during working hours.
However, a hotel never really closes.
Meanwhile, a bakery may use large amounts of energy before most other businesses have opened.
So, comparing completely different businesses is not always helpful.
Instead, start by understanding your own normal use.
Then look for anything unusual.
Find Out What Runs When Nobody Is There
This can be a very useful exercise.
Walk around the business after normal working hours.
What is still running?
You might find:
- Lights
- Computers
- Screens
- Fans
- Heating
- Air conditioning
- Kitchen equipment
- Machinery
Some equipment needs to stay on.
For example, refrigerators cannot simply be switched off overnight.
However, other equipment may be using energy for no useful reason.
That is where easy savings can begin.
Look at Hours as Well as Power
Small electrical loads can become expensive when they run for a long time.
Imagine something uses:
500 watts
That is:
0.5 kW
If it runs for 10 hours, it uses:
5 kWh
However, if it runs every day for a year, the total becomes much larger.
Therefore, do not only ask:
“Does this use a lot of power?”
Also ask:
“How long is it running?”
Time matters.
Heating Is Often a Good Place to Look
Heating can be a major business energy cost.
Therefore, check the basics first.
Ask:
- When does the heating start?
- When does it stop?
- What temperature is set?
- Are empty areas being heated?
- Are doors or windows open?
- Are the controls working properly?
A heating system may be efficient.
However, it can still waste energy if it is heating an empty building.
Do Not Heat and Cool at the Same Time
This sounds obvious.
Yet it happens.
For example, the heating may be trying to raise the room temperature while air conditioning is trying to lower it.
The result is energy being used on both sides.
Therefore, check the controls.
Also, make sure different systems are not fighting each other.
Sometimes, better control is more useful than buying more efficient equipment.
Think About the Building
The heating system is only one part of the problem.
The building itself matters too.
Heat can escape through:
- Roofs
- Walls
- Windows
- Doors
- Gaps
- Poorly insulated pipes
Therefore, improving the building can reduce the amount of heating needed.
However, remember ventilation.
A building still needs fresh air.
So, the aim is not to seal every possible gap without thinking about how the building is ventilated.
Lighting Can Offer Easy Savings
Lighting is another good place to start.
First, ask whether lights need to be on.
Then, look at the type of lighting being used.
LED lighting can use much less electricity than older lighting.
However, controls can matter just as much.
For example:
Does this storeroom need its lights on for ten hours if someone enters it for twenty minutes?
A motion sensor may solve that problem.
Likewise, daylight sensors can reduce lighting when natural light is already enough.
The best energy-saving light is often the one that does not need to be on.
Refrigeration Needs a Different Approach
Restaurants, cafés, shops and food businesses may use a lot of electricity for refrigeration.
Of course, refrigerators and freezers cannot simply be switched off.
Instead, look at how well they are working.
Check:
- Door seals
- Temperatures
- Airflow
- Condensers
- Maintenance
- Ice build-up
Also, avoid leaving doors open longer than needed.
A poorly maintained refrigerator may need to work harder to stay cold.
Therefore, maintenance can save energy as well as protect the equipment.
Compressed Air Can Be Expensive
Some workshops and factories use compressed air.
It can also be an area of waste.
Leaks may appear small.
However, if compressed air is escaping all day, the compressor must keep replacing it.
Therefore, check systems for leaks.
Also, ask whether compressed air is actually needed for each task.
Producing compressed air takes electricity.
So, using it unnecessarily can be expensive.
Motors, Pumps and Fans
Motors are common in many businesses.
They may drive:
- Pumps
- Fans
- Conveyors
- Compressors
- Production equipment
Sometimes, these motors run at full speed even when full output is not needed.
Depending on the equipment, better controls may reduce energy use.
However, this is where specialist advice can become useful.
Do not change important equipment simply because a salesperson says it will save energy.
First, understand the existing system.
Then calculate the likely saving.
Change When You Use Energy
Sometimes, reducing energy costs does not mean using less energy.
It means using it differently.
As we saw on the previous page, several large electrical loads running together can create a high peak.
Therefore, a business may be able to spread some activities across the day.
For example, could:
- EV charging happen later?
- Machinery start at different times?
- Batteries charge outside busy periods?
- Some processes move away from peak demand?
This will not suit every business.
However, for larger electricity users, timing can matter.
Get Staff Involved
Energy-saving plans often fail when only one person knows about them.
Staff use the building and equipment every day.
They may also notice waste that management does not see.
For example, someone may know that:
“That heater stays on all weekend.”
Or:
“We leave this machine running because nobody knows how long it takes to restart.”
Therefore, ask staff where they see energy being wasted.
However, keep the process practical.
People are more likely to follow simple changes than a long list of complicated rules.
Measure Before You Spend
Suppose you are considering replacing a piece of equipment.
The new equipment costs:
£5,000
The salesperson says it is much more efficient.
That sounds good.
However, the important question is:
How much money will it actually save?
Suppose it saves:
£1,000 a year
A simple payback would be around:
5 years
Now suppose it saves only:
£200 a year
The simple payback becomes:
25 years
The same £5,000 investment suddenly looks very different.
Therefore:
Efficiency alone is not enough.
The numbers need to make sense.
What Is Payback?
A simple payback calculation is:
Cost of improvement ÷ yearly saving = payback period
For example:
£6,000 ÷ £1,500 = 4 years
This means it takes about four years for the savings to equal the original cost.
However, simple payback is only a starting point.
It does not include everything.
For example, maintenance costs or changing energy prices can affect the result.
Still, it gives you a useful first check.
Should Your Business Install Solar Panels?
Solar can work very well for some businesses.
In particular, it can suit businesses that use a lot of electricity during the day.
Why?
Because the business can use the electricity while the panels are producing it.
Imagine a warehouse with a large roof.
It operates throughout the day.
Solar panels may produce electricity at the same time the building needs it.
That can reduce the amount bought from the grid.
However, another business may be closed for much of the day.
The same solar system could then give a different result.
Therefore, solar should be matched to the business’s energy use.
What About Battery Storage?
A battery can store electricity for later.
That may help a business use more of its own solar power.
It may also help manage demand at certain times.
However, batteries add cost.
So, do not start with:
“We need a battery.”
Start with:
“What problem would the battery solve?”
Then calculate whether solving that problem is worth the cost.
What About Heat Pumps?
Heat pumps can reduce the use of fossil fuels.
However, they also increase electricity use.
Therefore, a business considering a heat pump should look at:
- The building
- Insulation
- Heating demand
- Existing heating system
- Electricity supply
- Running pattern
A heat pump that is right for one building may not be right for another.
So, assess the whole system rather than simply replacing one piece of equipment.
EV Charging Needs Planning Too
Installing EV chargers may be useful for staff, customers or a business fleet.
However, several chargers can add a large electrical load.
Therefore, check your available electrical capacity before installing them.
Smart charging may also help.
Instead of every vehicle charging at full power at once, the system can share the available power.
This may reduce the need for an expensive upgrade to the electricity supply.
Look for Grants and Support
Financial help may sometimes be available for business energy improvements.
However, schemes change.
They can also differ across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Therefore, check current support before starting work.
Most importantly, check before signing a contract or paying for the installation.
Some schemes will not fund work that has already started.
Be Careful With Energy-Saving Claims
Businesses receive plenty of sales calls.
You may be promised:
“Save 40% on your energy bills.”
Treat claims like this carefully.
Ask:
40% of what?
How was that calculated?
What assumptions were used?
What happens if our energy use changes?
A saving should be based on your business.
Not somebody else’s.
Start With the Cheap Changes
Before spending thousands of pounds, look for low-cost waste.
For example:
Switch things off
Correct heating times
Fix poor controls
Repair leaks
Maintain equipment
Reduce unnecessary lighting
Then measure what happens.
After that, consider larger investments.
This gives us a sensible order:
Understand → Control → Improve → Invest
Keep Checking
Energy management is not something you do once.
Businesses change.
Staff numbers change.
Opening hours change.
Equipment changes.
Energy prices change too.
Therefore, check your energy use regularly.
It does not need to become a full-time job.
For many small businesses, a simple monthly check can be enough.
Look at:
kWh used
Cost
Any unusual change
If something suddenly looks different, find out why.
A Simple Business Energy Plan
You can bring everything in this section together with eight steps.
1. Understand your bills
Know what you use and what you pay.
2. Know your contract
Keep track of the end date.
3. Find your biggest energy users
Focus where the money is actually going.
4. Look for waste
Check heating, lighting, equipment and operating times.
5. Improve the controls
Make sure energy is being used when it is needed.
6. Measure the result
Check whether the change actually worked.
7. Consider larger improvements
Look at insulation, equipment, solar, heat pumps or other changes where they make sense.
8. Check the numbers
Make sure the likely saving justifies the cost.
Then repeat the process as the business changes.
In Short
Reducing business energy costs does not start with buying technology.
It starts with understanding the business.
Ask:
Where is the energy going?
Then:
Why are we using it?
Next:
Can we use less?
And finally:
Would investing money save enough to make it worthwhile?
Sometimes, the answer will be a new heating system or solar panels.
However, sometimes it will be a timer that costs very little.
Both can be good energy decisions.
The aim is not to use the newest technology.
It is to use energy where it adds value and stop wasting it where it does not.
That completes our Business journey:
Understanding Business Energy
→ Business Energy Contracts and Prices
→ Understanding Your Business Energy Bill
→ Business Electricity Supply, kVA and Maximum Demand
→ Reducing Business Energy Costs
Energility
Understand More. Spend Less. Live Better.