Business energy in winter: how to prepare for higher energy costs
Winter can bring a hike in energy costs for businesses. Additional heating and lighting can push up energy use and put pressure on budgets.
While you can’t control the weather or wholesale energy prices, there are ways to manage your energy costs and prepare for seasonal changes.
From reviewing your energy contract to investing in commercial solar and battery storage, here’s how to make your business more energy efficient and better prepared for the winter.
Why do business energy costs rise in winter?
Businesses often use more energy in the winter. Colder, darker days mean heating, heat pumps and lighting need to run for longer. Higher demand for gas and power also drives up wholesale energy prices across the UK.
Electricity can also cost more between 4pm and 7pm, when demand on the national grid is highest.
Fixed banded costs like Distribution Use of System and Transmission Network Use of System charges, can make electricity more expensive during these hours too.
Managing higher winter energy costs with your energy contract
The right energy contract can help your business manage higher energy costs during the winter months, when increased heating, lighting and operational demands can push up consumption.
Flexible contracts can give your business more control over when you buy energy. Rather than fixing your entire requirement at once, you can purchase energy at different times throughout the year.
You can take advantage of lower wholesale prices when they arise, helping you manage purchasing costs.
A Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) can offer greater price certainty over the longer term.
By agreeing a price for renewable electricity with a generator, your business can reduce its exposure to wholesale market fluctuations and make energy costs easier to forecast, including through the winter months.
The best option depends on your business’s energy usage, budget and appetite for risk.
Good Energy offers a range of commercial energy contracts to help you manage costs and find an approach that works for your business.
Using solar panels and batteries efficiently to reduce peak costs
Solar panels can still generate electricity during winter, even though there are fewer daylight hours. Using this electricity on site can reduce the amount you need to buy from the grid and help to build operational resilience.
Combining your solar panels with battery storage can make even more of a difference. By optimising when you charge and discharge your battery, you can dictate when you are drawing power from the grid.
In peak times (4 – 7pm), energy is often much more expensive, so reducing your usage between these times can add up to some serious savings.
Installing solar and storage can also open the door to reviewing the fixed charges you pay for your grid connection.
If a battery consistently reduces your maximum imported power, it may be possible to apply to your network operator to reduce your Available Capacity limit and the associated fixed capacity fees, permanently lowering the fixed capacity fees tied to your connection.
Bridec, a large UK manufacturer, used both solar installation and battery storage to offset 71% of their annual electricity bill.
Using your energy data and hourly matching
Understanding how and when your business uses power can help keep costs under control.
Before the winter truly takes hold, we recommend carrying out an internal audit using your half-hourly (HH) metering data to spot hidden waste, such as equipment running overnight or on weekends when your building is empty.
Going a step further with 24/7 hourly matching gives you real-time transparency of where your energy is coming from – a service Good Energy offer to our half-hourly business customers.
This provides you hour-by-hour visibility of how your energy matches British renewable generation – supporting your carbon reporting in line with latest Science Based Targets initiative and Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards.
Prepare your business for winter
Preparing for winter energy costs starts with understanding how your business uses electricity and which changes are likely to make the biggest difference.
Reviewing your contract, exploring battery storage and commercial solar early can help your business stay resilient throughout the winter months.
FAQs
There are several ways businesses can reduce energy costs during winter, starting with understanding when and where they’re using the most electricity.
For longer-term savings, investing in commercial solar panels and battery storage can help reduce reliance on electricity from the grid and manage peak-time energy costs.
Find out more in our guide to making your business more energy efficient.
Solar panels still work in the winter months, as they generate electricity from daylight – even on cold or cloudy days.
Shorter days mean solar panels typically generate less electricity in winter than in summer. However, they can still reduce the amount of power your business needs to buy from the grid.
Find out more about why winter can be a good time to invest in commercial solar.
Yes. Battery storage allows businesses to store surplus electricity generated by solar panels and use it when they need it most.
For example, you could store electricity generated during the day and use it during the evening peak period (typically 4pm–7pm), when electricity can be more expensive.
The savings will depend on your business’s energy usage, battery size and how effectively the system is managed.
Discover the benefits of commercial solar and battery storage.
Yes. There are various grants and funding schemes available to help UK businesses invest in energy-saving improvements, including solar panels, battery storage, heat pumps and energy-efficient lighting.
If your business isn’t eligible for a grant, other funding options may be available, including asset finance, business loans and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
Explore our guide to business grants for solar panels and energy-saving improvements.
/
