10 Proven Strategies to Save on Business Energy Bills

Reducing your business energy bill starts with understanding your energy usage through utility bill audits, benchmarking, and smart monitoring tools to identify waste and savings opportunities.

Comparing energy suppliers and taking advantage of rebates, incentives, and renewable energy solutions can maximize savings while improving your business's energy efficiency and sustainability.

By implementing these strategies you can begin to save costs long-term for your business energy bill.

Learn How to Reduce Your Business Energy Bill

Energy expenses make up a large portion of the overall operating costs for businesses. By finding ways to implement energy-saving strategies, you will be able to save money and directly reduce overhead costs.  

Some practical strategies include switching your energy provider, upgrading light fixtures and appliances, and shifting energy use to off-peak hours. Regardless of the size of your organization, there are plenty of ways to secure commercial energy savings without sacrificing your business practices. With Price to Compare, we aid you in navigating these strategies and various energy plans to support your business in reducing its energy bill.  

1. Start By Undergoing a Utility Bill Audit

Performing an audit on your utility bill can uncover errors and discrepancies in your rate or billing. Utility bill audits also provide opportunities to learn about your business’s energy usage trends. Knowing your usage patterns helps your business decipher its seasonal spikes, surges, and peak hours. Knowing this information will aid you in making an informed decision when selecting energy plans.  

What Are Some Common Energy Bill Errors?

• Incorrect meter readings. Faulty meters and entry mistakes may cause overcharges on your bill.  

• Duplicate charges. These can occur from billing system glitches and human error, raising your bill.  

• Missing discounts. If discounts are expired or entered incorrectly, your bill will not reflect the potential savings.

• Rate discrepancies. Billed rates sometimes don’t match agreed rates. This can be attributed to supplier error or a mistake during a plan transition.  

2. Benchmark Your Energy Use

Understanding your business’s base energy usage is imperative when it comes to navigating potential cost-cutting strategies. Knowing this base will help you spot where the company is inefficient. This new benchmark provides your business with a starting point for figuring out energy savings and potential ROIs for upgraded equipment. Being aware of your current performance means you and your business can recognize forward progress as it occurs.  

3. Utilize Smart Meters and Monitoring Tools

Controlling usage is another way to reduce costs. Smart meters and other monitoring tools can distinguish usage patterns, providing visibility into peak times and where energy is being wasted. Knowing when and where energy waste is occurring provides your business with the opportunity to address it.  

Energy Management Systems and How They Work

These systems can help you monitor energy by providing real-time data. They aid you in making educated decisions based on their optimization of energy consumption in your building. There are simple systems that only handle basic monitoring, but there are also highly advanced systems that can automate energy usage to avoid waste.

4. Shift Usage for Peak and Off-Peak Hours

Shifting your energy usage from peak to off-peak hours can generate substantial business electricity savings, especially if you have a time-of-use (TOU) rate. By avoiding peak demand, you are reducing the strain on the grid and lowering emissions. This is especially important if your energy contract includes demand charges.  

Demand Charges

Demand charges are charged primarily to industrial businesses. These rates are based on your single moment of highest demand throughout a certain period. Therefore, it is important to spread out energy usage to reduce these charges.  

Time-Of-Use Rates

Electricity costs vary during different times of the day when you have a TOU rate. These rates are lucrative to those who use energy during off-peak times. By incentivizing businesses to operate outside of peak hours, the strain on the grid lessens.

5. Find and Utilize Rebates and Incentives

If you are concerned about the cost of making upgrades to your lighting system, equipment, and appliances, you may want to explore different rebates and incentives. These programs are available to help mitigate the cost of investing in cleaner energy.  

There are solar buyback programs, utility and government rebates, and demand response programs, all with the purpose of aiding your business in going green and reducing your emissions.  

These benefits may differ depending on where your business is located, so we recommend exploring what is available before making your upgrades.  

6. Implement Low-Cost Behavioral Changes

If making major changes to achieve business energy savings isn’t currently possible, you can begin implementing low-cost adjustments to save on your energy bill. There are many ways to save energy and reduce energy bills without breaking the bank.  

Turning Off Equipment After Hours

Remembering to turn off equipment once the task is complete or once the day is over adds up in the long run.  

Adjusting Thermostats

Even if your business doesn’t have a smart thermostat, you can manually adjust temperatures and reduce unnecessary use when people are not using certain rooms or leaving the building.  

Encouraging Natural Light When Possible

Taking advantage of natural light on sunny days allows you to rely less on lighting and heating fixtures.

Setting Energy Reduction Goals with Staff

Holding a team meeting to go over expectations and energy reduction goals is a great way to keep staff informed about your energy–saving initiatives.  

7. Upgrade to High-Efficiency Equipment

Upgrading to high-efficiency equipment with a fast ROI is important because it can heavily influence cost reduction and sometimes even pay for itself completely over time. Examples of this efficient equipment include LED lighting fixtures, HVAC systems, and various smart appliances.  

8. Build Good Facility Maintenance Habits

By encouraging employees to look for opportunities to seal and insulate the building and conceal any leaks, you can lower costs and become more energy efficient. Arranging professional routine maintenance is an important thing to consider as well. By scheduling this maintenance, you can save your business from having to pay to reinstall or fix lighting fixtures and appliances. When equipment lasts longer, it saves you money.  

9. Explore Renewable Energy Solutions

Going green does more for your business than just reducing emissions; it leads to long-term savings when done correctly. While the initial investment when switching to renewable energy solutions may be large, the significant reduction in monthly utility bills is offset over time.  

Solar Panels

By converting sunlight to electricity, solar panels are a great renewable energy option for offices, warehouses, and any other large-roof buildings.  

Geothermal Heat

By making use of underground temperatures, geothermal systems provide natural heating and cooling. This option is best suited for buildings with a lot of land.  

Solar Thermal Systems

These versatile systems capture sunlight and use it to heat water or air. These systems can be used in many different types of buildings, making them a practical choice for many.  

Battery Energy Storage

If your renewable energy hits a surplus, battery storage stores the excess energy to be used during power outages and peak demand times. This reduces overall reliance on the grid.

10. Compare and Switch Energy Suppliers

Perhaps the biggest strategy you can implement to generate long-term business energy savings is to switch suppliers, especially if you are unhappy with your current rate. Go to Price to Compare’s online marketplace to find the top suppliers in your area to make a change today.  

Implement These Long-Term Strategies to Cut Your Energy Bill

There are many ways to reduce your business’s energy bills. By implementing these strategies and technological investments into your business plan, you will begin reducing energy and overhead costs, all while encouraging sustainability and efficiency.  

Create a long-term plan to implement these proven strategies. By generating a timeline, changes are spread out, budgeted correctly, and will not impact the business negatively. If you and your employees commit to these strategies, considerable energy savings will come your business’s way.