Introduction
For many businesses, knowing how to save energy starts with the basics: switching off lights and making sure equipment isn’t left running when not in use. Although these small changes can help, there are many more impactful ways you can make a difference to your business energy bills.
With 27% of businesses reporting difficulties paying their energy bills, rising costs, inefficient usage and poorly managed energy strategies can create challenges and put pressure on budgets.
In this guide, we explore five practical ways your business can take control of its energy use, cut unnecessary spending and reduce energy costs beyond simply switching off the lights.
Why are Business Energy Bills so High?
High business energy bills are becoming the ‘new normal’, with business energy costs rising by 25% since February 2026. This is driven by a number of factors including:
- Market volatility – The nature of commercial energy is volatile, with wholesale prices being driven by geopolitical events, extreme weather caused by climate change and currency movement, causing sharp spikes and dips that can be difficult to anticipate if you do not have dedicated expertise or access to market insight.
- High network and non-commodity costs – Business energy bills include additional charges beyond the wholesale cost of electricity and gas, such as network maintenance, distribution, transmission and government levies. These costs can increase over time and make up a significant proportion of a business’s total energy bill, even when wholesale energy prices fall.
- Supply and demand – A large factor in commodity costs is supply and demand which changes based on the time of day, as well as the season. For example, energy prices will typically rise during the colder months due to increased demand for heating.
- Inefficient or outdated equipment – Older equipment is usually less energy efficient than newer equipment, especially if it is damaged or not operating to its full capacity. This can lead to higher energy consumption, increased running costs and unnecessary energy waste.
- Unsuitable energy contracts – Businesses may end up paying more than necessary if their energy contract does not suit their usage patterns or operational needs. For example, choosing a fixed-rate tariff when market prices are likely to fall in the near future, agreeing to unfavourable contract terms or allowing a contract to automatically renew without reviewing alternatives can lead to higher costs.
- Lack of energy knowledge – Without a clear understanding of how energy markets work, what drives energy prices and where savings can be made, businesses may struggle to make informed decisions about their energy usage and contracts. This could lead to missed opportunities to negotiate better rates, improve energy efficiency or identify unnecessary consumption.
5 Ways Businesses Can Reduce Energy Costs
From small behavioural changes to large-scale upgrades and changes to the way you buy energy, there are lots of ways businesses can save energy and reduce costs.
1. Take a closer look at your energy usage
In order to reduce energy costs, businesses must first understand the ways in which they use energy across all areas of operations. By establishing a baseline of energy usage, businesses will be able to measure any progress made from reduction measures to inform future strategies.
A great starting point is to conduct an energy audit, which involves a comprehensive assessment of your operational practices, heating, cooling and lighting, building fabric and building management. This will allow you to identify both quick wins and long-term investments that can be made to improve your energy efficiency and reduce business energy bills.
Incorporating smart systems, such as automated lighting, smart meters and heating controls, mean you can automatically adjust lighting, heating and cooling based on occupancy or operating hours, reducing unnecessary energy consumption. Smart systems also provide valuable insights into energy usage, helping you to identify areas of waste.
When making changes to the way you procure, use and manage your business energy, assigning responsibility within your team is a good way to ensure that nothing gets missed. Designating someone to monitor energy usage, track costs, review supplier contracts and identify opportunities for improvement can help keep energy-saving measures on track and make energy efficiency a shared responsibility.
2. Explore Procurement Options
There are several ways your business can buy its energy, and choosing the right approach can make a great difference to the amount you end up spending on your energy. Rather than simply signing a contract with the first rates you are offered, it’s worth exploring different energy procurement options to find a strategy that suits your budget and energy usage.
The two main approaches are fixed and flexible energy procurement, each offering different benefits depending on your business’s needs. Fixed energy contracts offer price certainty by locking in an agreed unit rate for a set period. This can make it easier to forecast energy spend and protect your business from sudden market price increases. However, this means that you may miss out on potential savings if wholesale energy prices fall during your contract.
If you opt for flexible procurement, your business will be able to purchase energy at different times, potentially taking advantage of favourable market conditions. Although this can give you more opportunities to save, it also means that your business is more exposed to risk and price fluctuations and may require more active energy management to control this risk.
With the right procurement strategy, your business can make smarter purchasing decisions that can help to lower energy costs over the long term.
3. Recover Funds
Billing errors, inaccurate usage data and overcharges can all lead to businesses paying more for their energy than they should. If these issues go unnoticed, costs can quickly add up over time. Reviewing historical energy bills and checking charges against contract terms and actual usage can help identify discrepancies and uncover opportunities to recover money.
Bureau services and bill validation can help businesses take control of their energy spend by auditing historical invoices, verifying billing accuracy and identifying errors such as incorrect rates, duplicate charges, inaccurate meter readings or misapplied taxes and levies. Where overpayments are identified, businesses may be able to reclaim funds from their energy suppliers.
By combining ongoing bill validation with a review of historical energy accounts, businesses can recover costs that might otherwise be lost, improve billing accuracy and ensure they only pay what they owe. This not only helps reduce business energy bills but also helps prevent the same errors from recurring in the future.
4. Tackle Energy Waste
Energy waste is another reason why many businesses end up paying too much for their energy bills. Even small inefficiencies can add up over time, especially if your business operates for long hours or uses energy-intensive equipment, so, identifying where energy is being wasted is an important step in reducing business energy bills.
One of the main culprits is old, outdated or faulty equipment. Inefficient machinery, old heating systems and poorly maintained air conditioning units can consume more energy than necessary to perform the same tasks. Regular maintenance, upgrading inefficient equipment and switching to energy-efficient alternatives can help reduce consumption and lower your business energy bills over the long term.
Energy audits can also help uncover hidden energy drains. By assessing how your premises use electricity and gas, an energy audit can highlight areas of energy waste or overconsumption. Addressing these issues allows you to prioritise improvements that offer the greatest potential savings.
There are several other practical steps businesses can take to tackle energy waste:
- Switch off unused equipment- Computers, printers, machinery and other electrical devices can continue consuming energy when left on standby, so it’s important to have clear shutdown procedures at the end of each working day.
- Optimise heating and cooling- Check your thermostat settings, to make sure you’re not over heating or cooling areas, as well as using timers to ensure heating and air conditioning systems only operate when needed. Keeping doors and windows closed when heating or cooling is running can also help prevent wasted energy.
- Monitor energy usage – Using Smart meters and energy management systems can help you better understand your energy, track consumption, identify unusual spikes and spot opportunities to save. Reviewing usage regularly makes it easier to measure progress and address problems early, before they become costly.
- Encourage energy-conscious habits- Your employees also play an important role in reducing waste, and encouraging simple measures, such as switching off lights, reporting faulty equipment and avoiding unnecessary heating or cooling, can make a noticeable difference.
5. Upgrades and Changes
Investing in energy-efficient upgrades is a great way to help your business achieve longer-term savings. From improving insulation to upgrading outdated equipment, making targeted changes can reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency and help you reduce your energy costs over time.
- Upgrade to LED lighting- Replacing traditional bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs can reduce lighting costs. Occupancy sensors and timers can provide further savings in areas that are not in constant use.
- Improve insulation: Poor insulation, draughty windows and gaps around doors allow heat to escape, forcing heating systems to work harder. Improving insulation can help maintain comfortable temperatures while reducing energy consumption.
- Choose energy-efficient appliances- When replacing office equipment or appliances, be sure to check energy labels and opt for more efficient models.
- Turn down the heating- Even a small 1°C adjustment to your thermostat can help lower heating costs by around 8-10%, particularly in larger commercial buildings. Regularly maintaining boilers and heating controls can also improve efficiency without compromising employee comfort.
- Work with an energy consultant- Knowing which upgrades to prioritise isn’t always straightforward. An energy consultant can assess your current consumption, identify opportunities for improvement and develop a tailored strategy based on your budget and business objectives and build a realistic plan for reducing energy consumption over time.
By employing a combination of practical measures and an effective energy management strategy, you can improve efficiency, reduce costs and keep business energy bills under control.
Ready to Start Saving on your Business Energy Bills?
If you want to reduce your energy costs, Consultus has a range of solutions that can be tailored to work for your business needs and goals.
Whether you want to design a procurement strategy that balances risk with reward or take a closer look at your energy to uncover hidden savings, our team are here to help.
Get in touch to find out more about our services and build a smarter energy strategy today.