How Much Does A kWh Cost?
Now that you understand what a kilowatt-hour is, and how to work out how many you are using, you might be wondering how much you should be paying per kWh of energy consumption. The average unit price for business electricity in the UK as of 2021 is 14.40 pence per kWh, but the amount your business will spend each month on energy costs will depend on the tariff you have agreed with your current energy company.
When signing up with a business electricity supplier, they will let you know how much they charge per kWh of electricity. Every energy plan comes with its own pricing, and different energy suppliers will have different energy prices: this is one of the reasons why it's so important to compare and save with Business Energy UK.
There are a number of different electricity tariffs offered by UK companies. For example, you could choose a fixed-rate tariff, which means that you will know exactly how much you will pay per kWh of energy throughout the duration of your tariff. Your bill will only change depending on how much electricity your business uses each month.
Alternatively, you could choose to sign up for a standard variable business energy tariff. This means that the price you pay per kWh could fluctuate depending on market wholesale energy prices. Having a standard variable tariff can mean you save money if wholesale electricity prices fall, but it can be hard to predict your business' monthly energy bill.
How Can I Reduce My Business Energy Bills?
Encourage employees to make changes
If you're thinking about ways to reduce how much energy your business uses each month, it's important that you communicate with your employees, and encourage them to make energy-saving changes.
Your employees will be responsible for much of your businesses energy expenditure, so it's important that they are making conscious energy-saving decisions if you want to reduce your monthly energy bill. Simple actions such as turning off lights when entering a room and switching appliances off at the plug when leaving the office could have a large impact on your energy bills.
To get people involved, why not host a company-wide brainstorming session about the different ways that your business could work towards using less energy. You could also consider leaving subtle nudges and prompts, such as signage by light switches and next to taps, in order to remind people to switch off lights and faucets once they're done using them.
Monitor how much electricity you use
In order to use less energy, it's important to monitor the amount of electricity your business is currently using each month. To help understand how much energy your company is currently using, why not install a smart meter?
A smart meter with a built-in display or energy monitor is a fantastic way to help you save on your energy bills, as they help you to understand just how much energy you are using. Instead of having to access a complicated meter reading, a smart meter lets you see in real-time, day-to-day, how much power you're using, and your electricity cost.
When you can see and understand how much electricity you're using, and the kWh cost, it becomes much easier to take practical steps to reduce your energy consumption and your carbon footprint.
Swap to energy-efficient equipment and bulbs
When thinking about reducing your business energy expenditure, another easy but important change can be to swap to energy-efficient appliances and energy-saving light bulbs.
Although two appliances may appear the same, they could have very different energy efficiency ratings, which means that they will in fact consume different amounts of energy, and have a different kWh cost.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, appliances will have an efficiency rating from A to G, with A being the most efficient and G being the least. If you need to purchase new equipment for your office, make sure you're choosing efficient appliances, as this could help to vastly reduce your electricity costs.
Additionally, another quick and easy change for any business is to ensure that you're using energy-saving light bulbs across your premises. New, energy-saving bulbs, known commonly known as LEDs, convert over 90% of the energy they use into light, making them incredibly efficient. They also have a much longer life span than traditional bulbs, making them cost-effective too.
Consider conducting an energy audit
If you're a large company looking for ways of significantly reducing both your electricity consumption and carbon footprint, you might want to consider conducting a business energy audit.
An energy audit is an externally conducted in-depth report that analyses your business and highlights areas where you could save energy. Carrying out a commercial energy audit will help your business to reduce both electricity bills and overall consumption.
Some of the areas that a business energy audit will cover includes:
- Analysing your business gas and electricity tariff
- Looking at your water tariff
- An analysis of your business energy expenditure, including recommendations for changes
- Management of any external energy contracts
- Professional and personalised energy management advice
Cut Energy Costs With Business Energy UK
One of the best ways to cut energy costs is to make sure you're getting the best deal and electricity cost from your current energy supplier. With our free energy comparison tool, you can compare energy tariffs and kWh costs from a wide range of UK suppliers in less than 60 seconds!
Business Energy UK allows you to filter your results based on the tariff you're after, including fixed-rate, standard variable and green energy options. Search for single policies, such as gas or electricity, and compare the cost with dual-tariff options, to see where you could save.
Switching gas or electricity provider is easy when you compare energy costs with Business Energy UK!