How To Cut Your Business Heating Costs

You’re always looking to reduce your business costs where you can, and heating expenses are no exception.

With the continuing rise in energy costs, it’s a worrying time for you, wondering if you’re going to be able to afford your energy bill.

Making small changes to how you consume your energy could help keep your business heating costs down and your business doors open (not literally as that will definitely increase your heating costs).

Business heating costs

The average cost of business electricity is 17.73p per kWh and the average price of gas is 4.18p per kWh.

Smaller businesses tend to pay more per unit as they use less energy. Their average electricity bill is around £1,704 a year.

So, a microbusiness that uses between 5,000 and 15,000 kWh would expect to pay around 30p per kWh.

A large business that uses around 65,000 or more kWh would expect to pay less at around 29p kWh.

With the cost of heating increasing, many businesses find themselves struggling to keep up with the cost.

In Macclesfield a bar and fine dining restaurant were the latest casualties of rising business costs.

Wet Led Bar on Church Street and The Copper Room restaurant in Chestergate both permanently closed their doors. The Copper Room, less than a year after they opened.

This is a worry for other local businesses all around the UK, that they may suffer the same fate when their bills continue to rise this winter.

Do businesses get help with energy bills?

The government have said they will help businesses by paying nearly half of energy bills.

Under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the government will provide a discount on the wholesale cost of energy for non-domestic customers.

Liz Truss said that shops and pubs will benefit and that it will run for six months before being reviewed.

It’s expected that businesses will see £211 per Mwh for electric and £75 per Mwh for gas which is less than half of the wholesale price.

Businesses don’t have to apply for the scheme as it will be automatically applied.

Is business energy more expensive than residential?

The price of energy per unit is usually lower for businesses.

Businesses will tend to use more energy which means the unit cost is lower, just like bulk buying. But that doesn’t mean the overall bill is cheaper.

The price will fluctuate more than residential prices and there is a 20% VAT rate for businesses compared to 5% for residents.

How to keep business heating costs down

While there are businesses who are struggling with their energy bills, there has been over 21 new businesses open in Macclesfield.

A new gift shop, Lola Loves, opened on 7^th October in Chestergate, a new print shop opened in Macclesfield open market, and All Things Nice Bakery and Deli in Chestergate opened on September 30^th. So, businesses are still optimistic they can face the challenge ahead.

Here are little things you can do yourself to keep your business energy costs lower.

Upgrade to energy-efficient appliances

These could be smart thermostats, or it could be simply changing your lightbulbs. A report by the Energy Technology List states that your business could save up to 80% on ongoing costs by upgrading to LED technology.  

Lower your thermostat

For every 1 degree Celsius increase in temperature, your heating costs can increase by about 8%.

By turning your thermostat down slightly, it could save you a lot of money.

Improve your insulation

While this is an expense you may not need, it will help you in the long-term from losing money by heat leaving your property.

Carry out an energy audit.

You can get a specialist company to evaluate your energy usage to see where you are wasting energy.

The Carbon Trust has a benchmarking tool to help you see what your typical energy usage should be.

Get your staff involved

Put up posters to ask staff to switch off lights or ask hotel customers that they keep their towels if they’ve only been used once to cut down on laundry.

Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in supporting sustainable businesses and will even pay more for these products and services. By communicating to them that you are reducing your carbon footprint to help the planet (as well as cutting your costs), this could attract more customers.

Controlling your HVAC

Just like lowering your thermostat, turning your temperature down by one degree on your HVAC can reduce the power by up to 10%.

Maintaining your equipment

It’s important to service your boiler and HVAC system on at least an annual basis. This will help prevent breakdowns and unexpected bills, and it will keep your equipment running longer, giving you better value for money.

Servicing your boiler and HVAC also means it is at optimal performance, providing you with the most energy efficient heat and cooling when you need it which saves you money.

Natural light

Bring in as much natural lighting to your premises as possible. This will help to cut down on lighting costs, especially during grey winter days.

Changing your boiler

Another way to save money on you heating is to get a new boiler. If your boiler is over 10 years old, it may not be running as efficiently as possible.

Getting a new boiler will be better for providing you with heat, reducing your carbon footprint, and saving you money in the long-term.

Installing a new boiler could save you more than £226 per year on your heating bills.

While some of these energy saving tips may require a little investment, you may be able to get help in the form of grants.

And once you have invested in these, it will save you ongoing costs and help you reduce your carbon footprint which is more attractive to customers.

At Add Heat, we are a local, family-run business, so we understand the difficulties in running a business and we’ll do what we can to help ensure your energy costs aren’t keeping you up at night.

For advice on your business heating costs, talk to us today.