What Does The Average Business Spend On Energy?

Average UK Business Energy Consumption

On the most basic level, you may not know what would be considered a low energy bill for your business, and that's completely fine. Unlike with homes, the overall average business energy consumption will vary from business to business due to factors such as their size and industry.

This can make it challenging to know whether you have the best energy deal, so let's look at what the average consumption costs are for different business sizes.

For small and micro UK businesses, the average energy usage will sit between 10,000 kWh (kilowatt-hour) and 35,000 kWh per year, for both gas and electricity. As you can tell, this will vary depending on your business size, the number of employees and the industry. For reference, the average UK house will use between 12,000 kWh and 20,000 kWh per year.

As for medium-sized UK businesses, the approximate energy usage will range between 60,000 kWh and 115,000 kWh when considering both gas and electricity. Again this will vary depending on your business size, employee count and the industry.

Finally, on average for large businesses, the UK energy consumption is around 155,00 kWh in total.

With this in mind, you should be able to craft an idea of how much energy you want to aim to be using each year.

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How Much Does Business Energy Cost In The UK?

Something to note is that the cost of energy decreases with the larger the business is, as they naturally use more. So now we'll take a look at the average energy costs for each business size.

Micro-sized businesses employ 9 or fewer people, so as less energy is used, the rates are higher. Expect to pay from 13.2p to 16.7p per kWh on average for electricity and between 4p and 5p per kWh for gas.
Small businesses can expect to see their electricity bill ranging from 12.4p to 14.8p per kWh and from 2.3p to 4.5p per kWh for gas.
Medium-sized businesses should expect to see electricity costing from 12.2p to 13.9p per kWh and from 2.2p to 4.5p per kWh for the average business gas cost.
Large businesses can expect to see their electricity costing around 13p per kWh and 2p per kWh for the average business gas cost.

What's The Average Business Energy Bill?

So we've established the approximate energy usage and how much energy costs for different business sizes, but what does that mean financially for your business? Let's break down how much you should expect to pay for your annual energy.

Business Size	Expected Gas and Electricity Bill per Year
Micro-sized	£1,200 - £2,300
Small	£2,900 - £3,900
Medium-sized	£4,800 - £6,700
Large	Approx £12,000

If you feel you are spending too much on your energy bills, it may be worthwhile to consider comparing business energy prices through our website so that you don't miss out on a better deal.

How To Cut Your Business Energy Bills

Fortunately, if you feel your business's energy is costing you too much, there are ways you can reduce the price of your energy bills. Also in the process, your business can become more energy-efficient and can cut unnecessary energy consumption along the way.

Improve energy efficiency

There are simple day-to-day practices and energy efficiency measures you can introduce to cut your business energy usage without having to spend a fortune.

However, you may find it useful to invest in a smart meter to give you accurate readings and allow you to see where energy may be being wasted in the workplace. Plus, this is useful if you don't regularly check your meter readings and want to stop wasting time on manual readings.

The easiest way to cut your electricity and gas costs is to turn off lighting, electrical appliances and equipment when they are not in use.

You should also try to use energy-efficient light bulbs such as LEDs to cut the cost of illuminating your workspaces. LEDs use at least 75% less energy compared to their incandescent counterparts, and they last approximately 50 times longer. They serve as an easy win and an effortless change to make in the workplace.

Also, try to avoid wasting heat by stop keeping air conditioners and radiators on longer than they're needed to be. That's not to say to leave your employees scorching in the summer or freezing in the winter, but try to be more conscious of wasted heat. Even moving obstructive furniture out of the way of these appliances can be more efficient so that they can radiate across the room easier.

Introducing these simple switches and adjustments to your workspace can improve your energy efficiency and also make an impact on your energy bills.

Switch business energy suppliers

If the primary reason behind why you want to cut your energy consumption is that you feel you are paying too much, it may be worthwhile to run an energy price comparison check.

In this case, consider switching energy suppliers as you may be able to pay less this way by changing to a cheaper tariff. Switching energy suppliers is straightforward and is by far the quickest way to cut the costs of your business energy and subsequently save yourself some money.

If you would like to compare business energy suppliers in less than 60 seconds, please visit our tool here to find the most suitable energy deal for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the average business spend on electricity?

It is important to keep in mind that electricity works out as the more pricey part of business energy bills, with the average cost for businesses being around the 14 kWh mark.

As there are so many different sizes of businesses, it is hard to give an overall average as it can vary greatly. With this in mind, the average electricity bill for micro-businesses comes in between £650 and £2,200 per year. The average electricity cost for a small business will fall between £1,900 and £3,700 per year, and for a medium business, it is usually higher between £3,300 and £7,250.

If you feel you could benefit from a change in energy suppliers, take a look at our business electricity comparison tool to see if you can save money and get a better energy deal.

How much does electricity cost per month for a business UK?

As mentioned, the amount your electricity bill will come to will vary greatly on factors such as your business size, your location, your number of employees, and your industry.

The monthly average business electricity bill should come in at around £131 per month, but this will naturally depend on your business and energy usage.

How much does business energy cost?

Business energy bills combine the costs for electricity and gas usage, so, understandably, this figure will vary.

The prices will also vary drastically within each business size depending on your industry and service. For example, a restaurant is more likely to use more energy than a hairdressing business even though they may both be classed as a small or medium-sized business. Therefore, keep this in mind when comparing your bills.

With that in mind, micro-sized businesses can expect their energy costs to be between 13.2p and 16.7p per kWh for electricity, and from 4p to 5p per kWh for business gas.
Small businesses should see their costs falling between 12.4p and 14.8p per kWh for electricity, and between 2.3p and 4.5p per kWh for gas.
Medium-sized businesses can expect their electricity costs to be between 12.2p and 13.5p per kWh, with business gas falling between 2.2p and 4.5p per kWh.
Finally, large businesses should see business energy prices coming in at around 13p per kWh for electricity and 2p per kWh for gas.

If you feel you would like to compare business gas prices, find out where you could be making savings using our comparison tool.

What Does The Average UK Business Spend On Energy?