Hospitality is one of the hardest industries to turn a profit in, with heavy operational/labour costs and seasonal fluctuations only accounting for some of the challenges faced by owners. Guest-hosting businesses also use a lot of business electricity and gas, increasing overheads even more. In fact, over 30% of all hospitality businesses considered energy bills their primary concern in the summer of 2023. This makes the importance of proper energy management in hospitality industry settings as clear as day.    How rising energy costs are impacting restaurant businesses Restaurants are arguably feeling the impact of the energy crisis harder than most of the industries in the UK. In fact, over half of eateries polled by Favouritetable have cited recently that they’ve had to increase their prices to keep up with the inflated monthly costs of electricity and gas. Similarly, many businesses are reducing their operating hours, sometimes by as much as two days a week, to pay less to energy companies.   For many, national and regional energy costs for restaurant businesses in the UK will be the different between staying open or closing for good.    Energy management and saving techniques in hospitality With bills looming so threateningly over restaurants and other venues, hospitality professionals need to utilise some energy management and saving techniques to ensure they can continually offer high-quality services.    Optimising equipment and techniques. Old cookers, pans and other equipment can lead to a lack of energy efficiency, ultimately increasing the overall energy bills incurred by a kitchen.  Finding & negotiating better contracts. In many cases, a hospitality business could be suffering under overcharged bills because of a lack of awareness of a good electricity or gas tariff. Shopping around could make all the difference.   Choosing renewable energy. Renewable energy such as wind power is generally much cheaper per kWh when compared to traditional fossil fuel-powered options – going eco-friendly might be your financial saviour! Menu engineering. Choosing to include items on a menu that require less cooking/energy to prepare can decrease energy bills. Who knew steak tartare could be so helpful! Utilising smart meters & technology. Smart meters are an essential in every home or business setting, ensuring bills are accurate and you can adjust your energy use in real time. Appliances like motion sensor lights can also help to reduce expenditure.  Training & informing staff. Make sure that your staff are made aware of efforts to reduce energy usage and train them in basic techniques that they can apply to their daily processes. Energy-efficient lighting & HVAC. Lighting and HVAC can consume less energy with smart devices like sensors, along with basic changes clearing out the systems or choosing energy-efficient bulbs.    Finding the right solution for energy management in hospitality If you’re leaning towards finding a new tariff or switching over to renewable energy, why not give us a visit at D-Energi. We’re proud business energy suppliers with a passion for supporting companies of various sizes, whether with competitive gas tariffs, electricity or 100% UK wind power.  Contact our team today to learn more.

Retail is an industry that consumes energy at a remarkable rate, especially in food-stocking stores. With bright lights for presentation, constant background music and of course, refrigeration, retail stores are really feeling the impact of the energy crisis in 2025. That’s not to mention the various reasons for the overarching cultural opinion of high streets getting worse – the financial impacts of which can be severe. Business energy conservation has never been more important for retailers trying to maintain operations.    This blog offers some guidance on reducing the monthly energy cost for small retail stores, so you can keep your doors open for years to come, even in a volatile energy environment.   Optimize lighting This is perhaps the most common piece of advice to help a business save energy, and for good reason. Replacing typical halogen bulbs with LEDs is an absolute must, while arranging the store to utilise natural lighting can also make a huge difference. A more comprehensive investment can be installing motion sensors and daylight sensors to adjust lighting based on traffic and natural light availability.    Rethink refrigeration Refrigeration generally accounts for between 30-60% of all electricity used in retail settings. If your retail shop energy rates are too high, the fridge could be the perfect place to make savings. The options here include:    Upgrading to higher-efficiency units Regularly cleaning the fridge’s condenser coils Ensuring any fridge doors are properly sealed Defrosting the freezers regularly Optimising the settings to avoid overcooling and over expending energy Installing night blinds and covers to insulate temperature on open displays Don’t feel the need to overfill your fridges Turn off fridge lights whenever possible HVAC heroism Retail settings need to be kept at temperatures with customers inside – it’s an important part of providing and overall agreeable experience – especially in food storage settings. Tools like programmable thermostats will adjust heating and cooling based on store hours and occupancy, ensuring temperatures aren’t unnecessarily altered outside of operating hours.    Again, much like fridges regular maintenance is your friend when it comes to HVAC systems. Older, less functional systems will work harder to set temperatures, therefore expending more energy. Filter cleanings and duct inspections will go a long way!   Zoning your HVAC applications across the store setting can also be useful, ensuring heating and cooling is only enacted the right way based on the specific needs of each area.   Proper insulation and ventilation Properly ventilating the setting and allowing for good ventilation during the summer can make all the difference. Make sure to invest in both fast fix solutions and more permanent alterations to the business fabric. These changes will work in conjunction with HVAC improvements to make a significant difference to temperature-based expenditure.    Changing tariffs or going renewable While not strictly a form of business energy conservation, changing tariffs or leaning into renewable energy, such as wind power, could be the adjustment that your business needs financially. The former could illuminate that you’ve been paying inflated costs, while the latter is more energy-efficient and sustainable by nature!  For more information about how changing tariffs or leaning into renewable energy could benefit your retail business, please contact our team!

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!

Energy consumption in manufacturing industries is always high, with some businesses spending over 10% of their production costs on energy. This is a concurrent truth with the fact that companies all over the world are looking for ways to be more environmentally conscious. With this in mind, the pursuit of energy-efficient manufacturing is becoming increasingly common.    This piece will explore how to reduce energy consumption in industry settings and generally increase efficiency, touching on everything from internal processes to switching business energy suppliers.    Being with regular business energy audits Before you start making the changes that will create manufacturing energy efficiency, you need to get a proper understanding of where you stand in the present day. This is achieved by enacting regular energy audits. These will highlight patterns of your business energy consumption, making it clearer where efficiency can be enhanced. Audits should continue throughout the pursuit of energy-efficient manufacturing.    Important steps in energy audits include:  Defining all the energy-consuming items in the facility Evaluating equipment performance Checking energy bills for inconsistencies, spikes and drops Comparing usage to other buildings or businesses (if possible)   These steps will make it much easier to make informed decisions and develop a clear action plan going forward.    Investing in more energy-efficient manufacturing equipment Energy efficiency in industrial processes is largely dependent on the quality of the equipment being used. Older, less smoothly-running equipment will generally operate less effectively and cost just as much if not more than newer, more efficient alternatives. Replacing or refurbishing equipment might take a fairly significant up-front investment, however, it should save money and increase performance in the long run.    Typical changes can include:   Optimising HVAC systems Using variable speed drives to optimise motor operations Installing energy-efficient LED lighting Replacing older motors   Again, this should be treated as an ongoing task – these replacements or improvements won’t last forever without proper maintenance.    Installing smart energy technologies This one is short, sweet and simple – using a smart meter and other smart energy technologies offers a clear pathway to energy-efficient manufacturing. Smart meters as part of an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) will offer clear insights into energy uses, while automation systems will improve the control of energy-consuming technologies. Best of all, these things can be tracked and controlled by software, offering actionable data insights for you to base decisions on.    Switching business energy suppliers Everything considered, you might just not be getting a very good rate. Choosing a better business energy provider can be a great way to improve your financial efficiency, while renewable sources like wind power are inherently more efficient for the environment. Electing to go renewable can also do wonders for a business reputation, helping to establish status as a company that cares.  For more insights into business energy topics, visit our blog today.