With the clocks changing and peak autumn colours reached, now is the time to review hotel and catering business energy costs. Doing it now will maximise profits of the coming festive season and be ready for the winter of 2023.

Many of the changes required on catering business energy will cost some money to implement. Given some sources estimate that catering overspent more than £100Mpa on energy before the cost acceleration of 2022 and is responsible for 8M tonnes of carbon; acting now is good for your future business profit.

Measured start

With any business change, it’s always good to start with measurement. Aside from the regular bill, how do you monitor use? Do you use and does your supplier offer a Smart meter? This gives ongoing readings of your total use. Plug appliance monitors costing £25-30 allow you to check on individual items which use mains plugs. Both enable positive action to reduce waste.

Another conversation with your supplier is whether they are part of the National Grid Off-peak scheme starting in November. Here smart meters enable consumers and businesses to switch some of their use to off-peak hours (typically 1.30-4pm and 11pm to 7am) and receive a substantial reduction on their cost per unit. It also balances the load more effectively to reduce the potential for national and local blackouts.

All caterers could also consider their menu choices based upon the energy required. This is both in the cooking, preparation and storage. Analysis by the Carbon Trust showed that preparation accounts for a quarter of energy use.

Heating balances

40% of total catering business energy use is typically heat. This is skewed upwards by the inclusion of larger hotels, but is key for all in the winter months. A 1°C reduction in temperature can reduce the bill by 8%. Ideal room temperatures are:

• Bars/lounges 20-22°C
• Restaurants 22-24°C
• Kitchens 16-18°C
• Corridors 19-21°C

Key savers are ensuring the boiler is serviced regularly and that thermostats are not badly placed so they’re affected by radiators or draughts. Another one often overlooked is ensuring there is a 5°C deadband between heating and air-conditioning; so that one does not work against the other.

Lighting and water savings

The simple fix is LED and energy efficient bulbs, which can halve the energy used in lighting and will last long enough for the future price increases.

The longer fix is the installation of occupancy sensors to ensure that the lights are only on when needed as there is someone there. The word of caution is to be sensible in areas like corridors and stairwells for safety reasons. These again typically save 30-50%.

Low flow aerators on taps use fewer gallons of water per minute of both hot and cold supplies saving energy and money. Forced air hand driers use 80% less energy due to their efficiency than traditional heated driers. And the simplest saving tip is to remove the scale build-up wherever water is boiled.

Equipment reviews

Refrigeration is a necessary cost for all catering businesses. Regular cleaning and defrosting of fridges and freezers should be a given. But how many of us remember to carefully clean and remove the dust from the coils/panel at the back? Clean panels allow the heat to clear quicker meaning less energy used.

The ideal fill of a fridge is ¾ as this allows air to circulate and food to absorb the cold. Once a fridge has chilled, it uses the same amount of energy whether full or empty. What massively affects energy usage is the door being open for long periods and the fluctuations. It’s worth reviewing:

• how the fridge and other equipment is used and
• optimising by turning off other equipment when not in use.

For equipment it is always essential to consider the whole lifecycle costs not just the cost to purchase. The cost to run a fridge is way higher than the purchase price. Consider the efficiency of all equipment. Tests have shown the two most efficient cooking technologies for catering businesses were induction hobs and combi-ovens. The Caterer estimated that the latter were 25-50% more efficient than the equivalent back in 2015. AC Services would say wouldn’t we, that for Rational efficient energy use has always been a prime consideration.

Act now

Catering business energy costs are set to stay at high levels for some time. Now is the time to act with a mix of easy changes based on reviews of use; and some investment in those that give a longer payback period for the money that needs to be spent.

Our final thought is about community. If your trade only half fills the restaurant, is there space for those who can’t warm their homes to positively nurse a coffee for a couple of hours? Could this be wrapped up into a pay forward scheme, where both are jointly promoted publicly? After all, Covid taught catering businesses to consider all options to survive and manage goodwill.