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Although they use the same unit measurement (kWh), home energy and business energy contracts are not the same. Not only do they vary in terms of cost, but also their contract details. This means that although changing suppliers for your home energy is relatively simple, comparing the best home electricity suppliers with the best business gas suppliers can be a little tricky.
If you work from home, you may be wondering whether you should go with a home energy contract or a business energy contract. Although business bills can appear pricier, its energy rates are often cheaper than domestic rates. However, as businesses usually use more energy than households, and may even have to pay 20% VAT on their bills, then a business energy contract will be the pricier of the two.
Despite this, there still are some advantages to going with a business energy contract. If you run a charity or a not-for-profit organisation, there is a chance that you can quality for reduced VAT rate of 5%. Alongside this, if your business uses less than 33 kWh of electricity or less than 145 kWh of gas per day, then you will be able to pay a reduced rate of 5%.
If your business has been rolling along on the same electricity tariff for years, you’re almost certainly missing out on some substantial savings – and simply switching supplier could see your annual energy bills cut in half.
But as a busy business owner, it’s unlikely you’ll have enough hours in the day to even think about switching, and that’s why it makes sense to let our energy experts do all the hard work for you. A quick call is all it takes to assess your energy needs and find a price plan that’s the perfect fit for your business.
It doesn’t matter whether you run a blue-chip company or a corner shop, we’ll compare business electricity providers to find the best deal available and offer you an instant, no obligation quote.
If you’re not completely satisfied with our quote, we’ll keep comparing deals until we find one you’re happy with. Once that’s all sorted, we can guide you through the rest of the switch, step-by-step, to help save you both time and money.
The way commercial energy is bought and sold means business rates are worked out differently to household rates, with commercial deals often the cheaper of the two, so it makes sense to set up a designated electricity account at your business premises.
And because there are no dual fuel business energy tariffs, you’ll have to set up separate accounts for your gas and electricity.
As with domestic energy deals though, there are two charges you need to look out for when comparing quotes:
Standing charge - a set amount you pay no matter how much electricity you use, even if you don’t use any.
Unit cost - the amount you pay for the electricity you use, charged per unit. Although you will fix the unit price for the duration of your deal, the total amount you pay each month will vary depending upon the amount of energy you use.
If you work from home, you’ll only be able to set up a business electricity account if you can prove a significant portion of the energy you use – usually 50% – is for business purposes. This might sound a lot, but just using enough to light and heat your home during business hours could be enough to make you eligible.
To work out your annual electricity rates, your supplier will estimate how much energy your business will need, based upon the type of work it does and the size of its premises.
The table below should give you a rough idea of how much electricity your business should be using, and how much you should be paying in standing charges and unit costs.
| Business Size | Average annual usage (kWh) | Average price (per kWh) | Standing charge (daily) | Average annual price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro business | 5,000 - 15,000 kWh | 13.2p - 14.5p | 23p - 27p | £650 - £1,800 |
| Small business | 15,000 - 30,000 kWh | 12.4p - 14.1p | 23p - 27p | £1,900 - £2,900 |
| Medium-sized business | 30,000 - 50,000 kWh | 12.2p - 13.3p | 23p - 27p | £3,300 - £5000 |
Business electricity tariffs are usually set up for a fixed term of between one and five years, and because all businesses have different electricity requirements, it makes sense to tailor your tariff to meet your specific needs.
If, for example, you have a number of electricity meters across multiple sites, you could be better off taking out a multi-site energy plan that puts them all on the one tariff. But if you only have a couple of sites to consider, it might be more cost effective to have them on separate plans.
If you run a large business, or one with a high consumption rate, you should have a half-hourly electricity meter installed. These meters relay accurate usage information to your supplier every 30 minutes, and saves the hassle of potentially inaccurate estimates, which could see you paying for more electricity than you’re actually using.
The average business will use more electricity than the average home, and this higher demand means corporate customers can often negotiate better rates.
On the flipside, a higher demand coupled with rising wholesale electricity prices, as well as environmental levies and taxes, mean it’s easy to rack up big electricity bills. And you need to be especially switched on when your contracts come up for renewal – if you don’t agree a new deal with your current supplier, or negotiate a better one with a new supplier, you’ll be rolled onto an expensive rate, and may even be tied in for another year.
But finding the right deal for your business can take time, effort and no shortage of know-how – and that’s where we can help. Our team of energy experts will not only look to get you the best deal, they’ll also offer advice on how to give termination notice to your current electricity provider and deal with any supplier objections that might arise.
Just let us know a few details about your business and its energy use, either online or over the phone, to run a business electricity comparison. In getting the best deal for your business, we’ll not just consider the cost, but other important factors, such as online billing, customer service and how meter readings are delivered.
Once we find an electricity plan that meets your needs and budget, we’ll take you through each step of the switching process to ensure a hassle-free move.
And the best part is our service is 100% impartial and completely free, so you can be sure we’re working in the best interests of your business and that there’ll be no hidden fees.
To get started, call one of our electricity experts on 0800 688 8773__.
How much energy a business uses is highly dependant on the business itself. Even two businesses that seem indistinguishable from one another on a surface level may have different energy demands, and therefore different energy uses. For example, they may operate from different premises, have different opening times, and even a different workforce size, which all contribute to different heating, lighting, and energy efficiency systems.
Below is the average gas usage for a business by size:
Below is the average electricity usage for a business by size:
To find out more about how much you should be paying for energy, check out our guide to business energy bills.
There are four different types of business energy contracts, and the type of contract that will be available to you will depend on the supplier and your circumstances. They are as follows:
It is advised to sign up to a new contract before your current one expires, otherwise your supplier will roll you onto a more expensive rate. For more information, check out our guide to business energy tariffs.