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Garage energy: Efficiency tips, tariffs and costs
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Average garage energy consumption
Understanding and minimising your business energy consumption is the first step to controlling garage energy costs, and knowing your estimated annual consumption makes it easier to check whether a quoted tariff is a good deal.
Garage electricity consumption
Lighting is typically the biggest electricity consumer in most garages, because workshops, MOT bays and forecourts need bright, even light for safe and accurate work. CIBSE, the body behind the UK’s Display Energy Certificates, estimates that workshops and working areas require 35 kWh of electricity per square metre a year.
Specialist equipment like air compressors and vehicle lifts are also energy intensive and may require a three-phase power supply.
| Where electricity is used | Typical demand |
|---|---|
| Lighting | Highest |
| Air compressors and vehicle lifts | High |
| Diagnostic and MOT equipment | Moderate |
| Air conditioning and office equipment | Lower |
Garage gas consumption
Gas consumption for space heating is common at UK garages. A workshop must warm a high-ceilinged space with roller shutter doors that open every time a vehicle moves in or out, so it uses more heating energy per square metre than a typical office, or small hospitality businesses like restaurants.
| Where gas is used | Typical demand |
|---|---|
| Workshop space heating | Highest |
| Hot water | Minimal |
Improving energy efficiency for garages
Here are five practical ways to improve business energy efficiency in a garage. If you are not sure where the energy is going, a formal business energy audit will help you identify the biggest sources of consumption.
Keep the workshop doors closed
To keep heat in, fit door seals or fast-closing doors on the main bays so heat is not lost every time a car comes in or out. A garage working with the shutters up loses most of its heat straight out of the opening, so the heaters run constantly to keep up.
Fix leaks in the compressed air lines
Check the compressed air pipework for leaks, repair them, and switch the compressor off overnight and at weekends rather than leaving it pressurised. A single leaking joint makes the compressor cycle on through the night for no useful work at all.
Heat the work bays only
Use radiant heaters aimed at the bays where technicians actually stand, rather than warming the full height of the building, because the heat rises and is lost through the roof. Dropping the workshop temperature by a degree makes a clear difference to the heating bill across a winter.
Switch equipment off
Lower the ramps and turn off lifts, tyre machines, battery chargers and diagnostic equipment at the end of the day instead of leaving them on standby. Equipment left powered overnight draws energy for hours when no one is in the building.
Use extraction and ventilation efficiently
Put the exhaust fume extraction and any spray or ventilation fans on manual or timed controls so they run while an engine is running or spraying is underway, then stop. These fans move a lot of air, and their motors draw steady power the whole time they are switched on.
Energy costs for garages
Business electricity prices and commercial gas rates are a significant cost to garage owners in the UK. Here’s a summary of the key factors that impact energy costs for garages.
Competitive or uncompetitive tariff
If you let a contract run past its end date, the supplier moves you onto uncompetitive out-of-contract rates. Our experts can compare business electricity and compare business gas prices to find you a tariff that matches how your garage uses energy.
Consumption and efficiency
The more energy your business uses, the higher your electricity and gas bills are likely to be. By following the energy efficiency tips above, you can reduce your overall kWh consumption, helping to lower running costs without compromising day-to-day operations.
Standing charges
Standing charges on business energy tariffs are charged every day whether the garage is open or not, and business electricity standing charges and business gas standing charges vary significantly depending on your region. We recommend searching for business energy suppliers that offer competitive daily standing charges.
Best energy tariffs for garages
The best tariff for a garage depends on when it uses power and whether it runs from one site or several. A single independent garage has different needs from a group running several branches. The energy tariff options below tend to suit garages best.
Fixed rate contracts
A fixed rate business energy contract sets your unit rates for the length of the deal, which suits a garage with steady daytime opening hours and predictable usage. It protects you from price rises during the contract and makes budgeting straightforward.
Multi-rate tariffs
If your garage charges electric courtesy cars or customer vehicles overnight, a multi-rate meter bills the cheaper off-peak hours separately from daytime use. Shifting that charging to the night rate keeps the cost down without changing how the workshop runs during the day.
Multi-site contracts
A garage group with several branches can put every location on one multi-site business energy contract rather than managing separate deals with different end dates. Groups with a large combined usage may also consider flexible energy contracts, which let you buy energy in stages rather than fixing the whole price at once.
Renewable energy options for garages
Going greener doesn’t have to mean paying more. Below are the renewable options typically most suitable to garages in Britain.
Solar panels
A garage roof is usually a large, unobstructed space, and a garage uses most of its power during daylight hours, so commercial solar panels can cover a real share of daytime demand from compressors, lifts and lighting.
Solar batteries
Pairing panels with commercial solar batteries lets you store any surplus generated on quiet afternoons and use it during the morning start-up or the busier peaks. The panels cover daytime use directly, while the battery moves spare power to the times demand is highest.
Solar power purchase agreements
If you would rather avoid the upfront cost, a solar PPA lets a provider install and own the panels on your roof while you buy the power they generate at an agreed rate. This puts solar on the building with no capital outlay, though you keep less of the long-term savings.
Green energy tariffs
A garage on leased premises or without suitable roof space can still choose renewable electricity supplies by choosing green business energy, where the supplier matches your usage with renewable generation. It needs no new equipment and can be arranged the next time you renew or switch business energy suppliers.