A busy restaurant has the potential to use vast amounts of energy. Heating and lighting are essential to create the right atmosphere – no-one wants to eat in a cold, dimly-lit restaurant - and refrigeration and cooking are essential for behind the scenes operation.
And if you’re not convinced switching to a better energy deal will make a massive difference to your overheads, consider that around 5% of a restaurant’s total expenditure can be spent on energy alone.
When you factor in that the average restaurant profit margin is usually less than 10% of gross revenue, it soon becomes apparent that any small rise in the price of business energy for restaurants can quickly become a matter of concern. Plus, any money you save on your energy expenses will go straight to your bottom line and improve your profit margin.
Lower restaurant gas prices really could help transform the fortunes of your business.
First and foremost, the easiest way to reduce the cost of your energy bills is to run an energy comparison to identify where you may be missing out on cheaper deals. If you’ve never switched supplier, or you've been with the same supplier for a few years, it is highly likely you're paying more than you need to for your restaurant’s utilities.
Even after you’ve made sure you’re on the best restaurant electricity rate, there are additional steps that you could take to reduce your overall energy consumption by up to 40%. Doing so would really improve your profits.
Fitting energy efficient CFL light bulbs throughout your restaurant will use 75% less electricity than standard bulbs. You will see a marked cost improvement on your overall bill.
Occupancy sensors can reduce electricity usage by 30-50%. These are particularly useful in rooms such as cellars, toilets, storerooms, function rooms, etc.
Maintaining a constant temperature on your thermostat is more efficient than changing it throughout the day. You can buy equipment to automatically monitor temperatures and adjust thermostats accordingly.
A lot of heat from water in your central heating is lost through pipes. Simply insulating the pipes can significantly reduce this wasted energy.
Boilers should be serviced regularly, and old ones replaced entirely. Boiler replacement/maintenance may sound costly, but will actually save you money in the long-term if your existing equipment is flagging on energy use.
Fitting controls, such as flow regulators, to taps in your restaurant reduces the amount of water that comes through when the tap is turned on, cutting consumption overall and ultimately reducing your bill.
You can convert your existing toilets to low-flush basins easily by placing something heavy - such as a brick, for example - into the cistern. This displaces water and therefore results in less water being used with each flush.
Installing double glazed windows can help reduce the 26% of heat that can be lost through poorly insulated windows.
A whopping 35% of heat can be lost from your restaurant just through poor or non-existent draught proofing. A short-term cost can prove to be a long-term gain to both your customer and your accounting.
Walls that are not properly insulated allow 9% of indoor heat to escape.
Insulating your roof can cut down on up to 22% of heat loss.
Now just imagine investing correctly in these insulation techniques, and feeling the benefit across the long-term life of your business. It seems like a no-brainer to us.
If you want to reduce your restaurant’s utility bills, it is seriously worth following some or all of the above tips – you might even notice the difference on your next bill. Although many of these changes are small-scale and fairly easy to make, we do advise you couple them with checking out the competition on the market through our comparison site.
To make the most of your energy savings, you should be on the cheapest plan possible. At UKPower we have access to cheap business energy deals from across the market and years of expertise in switching businesses onto cheaper energy tariffs. We are here to help you find the best deal for your restaurant and make the process of switching your energy straightforward.
To find out more call us today on 0800 326 5517 or click here to get an online quote. We look forward to working with you!