Compare Business Energy Consumption by Industry

The average energy consumption of different businesses can vary significantly based on the industry in which companies operate. This is due to significant differences in operational processes, amounts of downtime, equipment used and the buildings in which everything takes place. Before you compare business energy rates, it’s important to understand how and why certain industries will innately consume more or less energy than others.

This blog will offer a business energy comparison between various industries, highlighting where consumption differs, along with offering some tips for increasing energy efficiency in each of them. 

Hotels

Hotels fall into the category of high energy consumption industries for several reasons. Some studies suggest the average room in a small hotel uses 6,000 kWh of electricity and 18,000 kWh of gas a year – multiplied by the number of rooms, this makes for a hefty bill, even higher per room in larger establishments. Not to mention other factors like: 

• 24/7 operation
• Hotel-wide HVAC requirements
• Lighting
• Kitchen energy consumption
• Massive laundry requirements

Business energy prices for hotels can be lowered with the use of smart thermostats, energy management systems, equipment/HVAC updates, eco-conscious practices and occupancy sensors. Check out this blog for further information. 

Catering

Trying to compare business energy rates across restaurants and catering companies depends on their sizes. Report shows that a smaller establishment will use between 15,000-25,000 kWh of electricity per year, with medium businesses using between 30,000 kWh and 50,000 kWh, with the figures being matched or exceeded in gas consumption. Catering businesses need energy for constant reasons like: 

• Refrigeration
• Cooking
• Ventilation
• Dishwashing

These costs can be lowered with more energy efficient equipment, demand-controlled ventilation, water-saving dishwashers and smarter kitchen layouts. 

Manufacturing

Business energy supply differs significantly between manufacturing sites, with larger, more advanced operations obviously using significant amounts more energy than smaller-scale grassroots facilities. However, it’s worth noting that average manufacturing plants spend 1-10% of their overall outgoings on energy for things like: 

• Heating 
• Machinery operation
• Compressed air systems

Using things like variable speed drives, optimising existing equipment, heat recovery systems and energy-efficient lighting will all make a difference. 

Education

The average school energy bill in 2024 was around £6,819 for 19,599 kWh, however this can vary significantly based on the number of students at a school and how advanced its facilities are. Energy consumption in schools is driven by: 

• Lighting
• Use of computer equipment
• HVAC
• In-house catering

Bills can be effectively managed with solutions like occupancy sensors, power-saving settings on computers, better insulation, and student/staff education on energy efficiency. 

Retail

The bright lights of retail (especially food-stocking) settings consume a lot of energy – around 700 kWh/m2 sales area in hypermarkets to more than 2000 kWh/m2 sales area in convenience stores – with refrigeration accounting for between 30% and 60% of the electricity used. Again, lighting sensors, dimmers anti-sweat heaters and other environmental technology can make a difference to the bills in these settings. 

Care homes

It’s easy to compare business energy tariffs in care homes. However, care homes come with unique challenges, including: 

• Specific temperature requirements
• Fixed/lower budgets
• Running specialised medical equipment

These settings can maintain energy efficiency largely by investing in quality equipment, practicing smart laundry techniques, training staff on energy-efficient practices and HVAC zoning between residents and employees.

Consider a new business energy supplier

Whatever industry you operate in, the issue might be that you’re with the wrong supplier. You can effectively lower your bill or increase efficiency when you choose a business energy supplier with multiple options, including renewable variants like wind power. For more insights into the landscape of business energy supply, check out our blog today.

Talk to our experts today for competitive business energy quotes today!