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Office energy: Efficiency tips, tariffs and costs
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Average office energy consumption
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero estimates that offices in England and Wales used around 18 TWh of electricity in 2024. That is roughly 15% of all electricity used by non-domestic buildings, second only to factories.
Commercial office buildings are fitted with gas and electricity meters, and energy tariffs always include a unit charge per kWh of energy consumed. This means understanding and minimising your business energy consumption is the first step to controlling office energy costs.
Office electricity consumption
Server rooms and network equipment are typically the biggest single use of electricity in offices, as they often run 24 hours a day.
Offices with air-conditioning commonly experience a spike in electricity consumption during the summer months.
| Where office electricity goes | Estimated share of electricity use |
|---|---|
| Lighting, cooling, ventilation fans, desk equipment and other uses | 63% |
| Server rooms, networks and other ICT equipment | 37% |
Office gas consumption
Most office gas consumption goes on space heating, with smaller amounts used for hot water and staff kitchens. Offices usually use far less gas per m² than hotels and restaurants because the heating typically runs only during working hours.
Gas consumption of offices typically increases during the winter months when heating is required.
Improving energy efficiency for offices
Most office energy waste comes from systems that run when nobody needs them.
Here are five ways to improve business energy efficiency:
Cut server room costs
Fitting sub-metering to the server room circuit shows how much it costs to run, and its cooling can usually be set to the highest temperature the equipment manufacturer recommends. Moving older servers to cloud hosting can typically reduce both the IT load and the cooling needed to support it.
Plan for hybrid working
If most staff work from home on certain days, set the heating and air conditioning to cover only the floors or zones in use on those days. An energy management system makes it easier to change these schedules week by week rather than relying on fixed timers.
Separate heating and cooling
In many offices, the heating and cooling work against each other, especially in spring and autumn. Set the heating to switch off well before the air conditioning switches on, leaving a gap of a few degrees where neither system runs.
Switch off equipment overnight
Set computers and screens to shut down automatically at the end of the working day through their power settings or central IT software. Shared kitchen equipment such as water boilers and vending machines can be put on seven-day timers so it stays off overnight and at weekends.
Move printers and copiers
Printers and photocopiers give off heat, so a thermostat placed next to them can read too warm and switch off heating or turn on cooling in the wrong areas. Moving them to a separate, well-ventilated space away from temperature controls also reduces the air conditioning load.
Energy costs for offices
Energy costs for offices fluctuate significantly over a year.
In summer months, business electricity prices have the most impact because of air-conditioning. In winter months, business gas prices have a bigger impact when gas is used to heat the building.
Below, we cover the key factors that impact office energy bills:
Finding a competitive tariff
If your contract ends without a new deal in place, you will usually end up paying needlessly expensive out-of-contract or deemed rates. Our experts can compare business electricity and compare business gas prices to find you a tariff that matches how your office uses energy.
Consumption and efficiency
The efficiency steps above cut the amount of energy your office uses, which lowers the number of kWh your business consumes each month. Using fewer kWh means a lower business electricity bill and business gas bill.
Standing charges
Standing charges are a fixed daily fee you pay whether the office is open or not, and they vary significantly by region. Check the business electricity standing charges and business gas standing charges in your area, as a cheap unit rate doesn’t always mean a cheap contract overall.
Best energy tariffs for offices
The best tariff for an office-based business depends on its size, its weekly usage pattern and how many sites the business runs. Here are the contract types that typically suit offices.
Fixed rate contracts
Most offices use energy in a steady weekday pattern, so a fixed business energy contract with a set unit rate gives predictable costs for the length of the deal. It typically suits small and medium-sized offices, including tenants who want energy costs to stay stable for the term of their lease.
Half-hourly metering
Larger offices with a maximum demand above 100 kW usually need a half-hourly meter, which records usage every 30 minutes. Sub-metering systems can be used to charge individual tenants in shared office buildings.
Multi-site contracts
Businesses with several offices or regional branches can move every location onto one multi-site business energy contract. This gives a single date for business energy renewals and one set of terms across the portfolio, rather than separate deals ending at different times.
Renewable energy options for offices
Owners of office buildings are often seek to reduce reliance on their business energy supplier by generating their own power. Below are the renewable options typically most suitable for offices in Britain.
Solar panels
Offices use most of their electricity on weekday daytimes, which is when commercial solar panels generate the most power. Owner occupiers with a suitable roof can typically use most of the output on site, which maximises the ROI on a solar investment.
Solar PPA
A solar PPA lets a provider invest in and install the panels on your roof while you buy the electricity they generate at an agreed price. This can suit larger owner-occupied offices that want solar power without paying for the installation upfront.
Green tariffs
Tenants in leased or shared office buildings often cannot fit panels, but a green business energy tariff matches the electricity you use with renewable generation backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin.