Electricity Costs: Which Appliances in Your Business Use the Most Electricity?

From fridges and kettles to computers and printers, your business probably uses a wide variety of appliances on a daily basis. When you want to compare energy prices is it important to know which of these electrical appliances are the biggest drain on your electricity costs. So, let’s take a look at how D-ENERGi can help you bring your business electricity prices down – and improve your green credentials in the process.

Calculating the electric consumption of appliances

The simplest way to check how much electricity an appliance consumes is to look at its power rating – a label stating the number of watts (W) or kilowatts (kW) can usually be found on the back or base.

This number gives you the average electrical consumption of the item when it is in use, but to find out how much it will cost to run you need to know your business electricity rates per kWh. A kWh is a unit of electrical energy equivalent to the power consumption of 1000 W per hour.

So, if your business electricity rate per kWh is 12p and you run a 50W laptop for 8 hours it will cost you (50/1000) x 12 x 8 which is 4.8p a day.

Typical electrical appliances that use the most energy

Of course, the appliances that use the most energy in your workplace will depend on the type of equipment you use and how you use it, but the most common energy users include:

• Air Conditioners – 4000W
• Desktop Computers – 100W
• Fridges – 80W
• Laptops – 50W
• Lightbulbs – 60W
• Photocopiers – 70W (when on standby)
• Printers – 60W (when on standby)
• Servers – 1000W

Does leaving electrical appliances plugged in use electricity?

It is important for business owners to realise that it isn’t a myth, many appliances will continue to consume electricity when they are left in standby mode. For example, if one member of staff leaves their laptop plugged in, even when it is fully charged, this could use around 4.5kW per week or 234 kWh a year – which can push your electricity bill right up.

For this reason, it is really important to remind employees to switch off their appliances at the main when they have finished using them – if possible. You could invest in some power strips for them so that they can turn everything off in one go – make it easy for them.

Easy ways to save electricity in the workplace

There are lots of simple things you and your employees can do to save electricity in the workplace including:

• Turning off appliances when not in use
• Switch from traditional light bulbs to LED’s
• Upgrade to an intelligent air conditioning, heating, and ventilation system
• Switch to more efficient technology when replacing items

One of the best ways to save on your business energy bills, however, is to let the D-ENERGi team compare your business energy prices per kWh rates to make sure you are on the best deal for you.