Business Electricity Profile Classes 01-08 & 00 Explained

What is an energy profile class, and how does it impact your business? How can you determine your profile class and use that data to reduce your consumption and make savings?

If you're interested in the answers, then read on; you will find out everything you need in the forthcoming article; we cover what you need to know to locate your energy profile class on your meter and understand it, so you can search for suitable quotes.

In most cases, a profile class is fixed, but that doesn't mean you have been assigned the correct one or that your profile class can't change if your consumption changes. Unfortunately, this is not an easy fix, but it can be done by contacting your supplier.

You can also find out more information about Business Energy UK. They are a comprehensive energy comparison website and knowledge base with everything you need to research and discover new gas and electricity tariffs.

What Is A Business Energy Profile Class?

An electricity profile class refers to the category of energy consumption that your business falls into. Every business consumes electricity differently, and knowing your class can help you save money when it comes to comparing electricity quotes. Some platforms are better than others for comparison.

When you research energy company quotes for your business, you will notice that they are separated into profile classes. There are nine classes in total, and five of these are maximum demand classes that allow you to measure your commercial consumption during hours of maximum demand.

The electricity consumed by your business is measured by the consumption patterns and the load profile and data from these two sources is used to determine the energy profile class of your business. When you know your energy profile class, you can then estimate energy consumption more accurately.

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What Profile Classes Are There?

Electricity profile classes give you a clear insight into your business's electricity consumption and consumption patterns; this profile class is then used for quote matching. The UK has nine profile classes for commercial consumers -these run from 01-08 and include 00. Each class is different.

Profile Class 01: Domestic Unrestricted Customers - the vast majority of small businesses, home businesses, sole -traders and micro-businesses fall into the domestic unrestricted customers class. This class is for domestic-use customers that don't require a tailored energy plan.
Profile Class 02: Domestic Economy 7 Customers - This energy class is very similar to Profile Class 01. This class is also for small businesses and household businesses; the difference is that domestic economy 7 customers can save on electricity costs during off-peak hours.
Profile Class 03: Non-Domestic Unrestricted Customers - This profile class is intended for small businesses that don't consume vast amounts of energy. Non-domestic unrestricted customers are low use businesses with predictable energy consumption patterns.
Profile Class 04: Non-Domestic Economy 7 Customers - Businesses with low energy usage and an Economy 7 meter is situated in this class. The Economy 7 meter allows non-domestic economy 7 customers to operate cost-effectively with cheaper off-peak hourly rates.

Domestic Maximum Demand Customers

Domestic maximum demand customers fall into the categories of 05-08; businesses of a certain size need to measure their energy load and their usage at peak times. Businesses that sit in this profile class can measure their maximum demand through the peak load factor (LF).

Profile Class 05: Non-Domestic Maximum Demand Customers - These customers have a peak load factor of less than 20%, meaning they use less energy than any other customer in the maximum demand customers class.
Profile Class 06: Non-Domestic Maximum Demand Customers - business customers in this class, have a peak load factor in the range of 20-30%.
Profile Class 07: Non-Domestic Maximum Demand Customers - the peak load factor for businesses in this class is moving towards the higher end of the scale - 30-40%.
Profile Class 08: Non-Domestic Maximum Demand Customers - businesses with a peak load of over 40% fall into this profile class. This is the upper end of the scale.
Profile Class 00: Peak load usage of electricity above 100 kW - at the top of the scale is profile class 00, reserved for businesses with high energy usage. These businesses use half-hour metering systems.

How Do I Know The Profile Class Of My Business?

The profile class of your business is based on the peak load factor, which is calculated by taking the total electricity used in the billing period (kWh) and dividing it by maximum demand (KW). This supply number is then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle followed by a 24 hour period.

The peak load factor calculated will correspond to a profile class, and your business can then be categorised. It's easy to find out what your profile class is by looking at your power meter. The profile class is the first two digits you can find on the meter. So it will correspond to a profile class 01-00.

Looking at the profile class of your business, you might think you are in the wrong class based on your average levels of power usage. Unfortunately, changing your profile class isn't as easy as checking it. First, you will have to get in touch with your energy company, which can re-evaluate your usage.

Compare Business Energy Prices With Business Energy UK

If you've ever tried to compare the market for electricity & gas prices, you might have noticed that it's not as straightforward as you first thought. Often, you have to input your readings and wait for the algorithm to come back with results, but there isn't any additional information on switching suppliers.

That's where Business Energy UK differs. The website has a dedicated resource for comparing BE prices across the market, so you don't only get an accurate picture of energy supply prices, you also get information on switching suppliers and how to save money on your energy tariffs.

Comparing electricity prices on BE UK is equally straightforward and rewarding, especially if you're goal is to streamline the business and save money where possible. BE UK is the easiest place to compare the market for prices - you can do this in under sixty seconds on the website.

However, comparing electricity prices across the market at any given time is not the only thing you can do at BE UK. If you need advice on pricing or information on rates, you can also find these on the website. It's also important to keep an eye on the market and measure your efficiency regularly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are electricity profile classes?

When it comes to electricity usage for commercial purposes, some businesses are bigger than others. There might be very little difference between the power they use for domestic purposes and the power used for their businesses with small businesses and sole traders. On the other hand, some companies use significant amounts of electricity, much more than is conventionally traded.

For this reason, electricity companies divide business electricity into profile classes. Profile classes are a set of nine categories that describe the usage for each business scale. The meter point administration number can be found on the electricity meter as a two-digit number. When searching for a business electricity quote, you will have to search for a deal within your class or have the class re-evaluated.

What is electricity profile class 1?

Electricity profile class 1 is the most common class of electricity you can find. This one is typically used for domestic unrestricted customers and is the class available for the lowest business usage. Companies in this class tend to be individuals or small companies working from home, there are no special requirements for this class, and no tailored plan is required.

It's the supplier's responsibility to allocate a business or place it into an appropriate class which is calculated using the peak load factor. Following the calculation, a premise is situated in one of the nine classes, profile class 1 being the most common. If you think your business should be allocated to a different class, you need to contact your energy supplier and ask them to revise your profile.

What does peak load usage mean?

There is peak load and baseload. The peak load factor is the amount of electricity used by a business across a short period when maximum demand is reached. A load factor calculation is used to measure peak demand, which can be calculated by dividing the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) consumed over a period by the number of hours in that time frame. The result is used to allocate the class.

Baseload is different; this refers to the minimum amount of electricity used across a 24-hour period, also called continuous load. Baseload is the continuous supply of electricity required by the grid, while peak load is the energy required at peak times in the working day. Therefore, you need to measure peak demand rather than baseload to determine which class you belong to.

Business Electricity Profile Classes Explained