Energy costs compare to building size / usage?

seismicryan

I am working on a business plan, and I am trying to estimate electricity costs etc...

does anyone know of any resource or chart etc where you can simply look up a building use and square footage and get an estimate of cost? Im sure such a thing must exist but I cannot seem to find it using google..

Thanks
Ryan

paulwf

Building size isn't really important, it is what you put in it that counts. Unlike a home that has on average 1 fridge, 1 freezer, a fairly constant usage per living room and each bedroom etc businesses can vary enormously. A shop might have an over door heater and be open for 12 hours a day 7 days a week or it might be unheated and only open for short hours 5 days a week and so on.

I think the best thing to do would be to list a spec here of the size, hours, major appliances etc...as much as you are comfortable being public at this stage. That way people can give their comparisons.

Please note that a lot of older business premises are poorly insulated and badly designed, this can have a huge impact on energy efficiency. Unlike a house commercial premises generally don't get treated to new double glazed windows, cavity wall insulation and nice things like that.

globalds

You could easily calculate the cost of lighting the space if you know how bright you want it to be and what kind of floor space you will have.

The cost of heating the space would not be so simple.

The costs would be a world apart between some poorly insulated space where the main doors are open most of the time compared to a well insulated space that is easy to keep heat inside.

seismicryan

I get what you guys are saying, however I was thinking there is bound to be some survey that says "a leisure centre / factory of Xm2 uses Y amount of energy".. if you know what I mean?

its kind of like in construction/engineering, there are British Standards which say what the loading should be for domestic flooring, factories, schools etc... all would be different but they give a standardised figure which is close... I was thinking if there is something for loading that a structural engineer would refer to, there may be something for electrical engineers for example?

Ryan

Savvy_Sue

I'm not the most technically minded person on MSE, but it seems to me that it's easier to give a figure for what the loading for flooring SHOULD be, and to produce standardised figures for it, because you know what it NEEDS to be in certain situations. The classic example is the University library which was built but could not be fully used because no-one had taken into account that the weight of the books, once added to the finished building, would make the floors collapse. If it had been for normal 'office' or 'classroom' use, it would have been fine.

However, the costs of heating an area will vary wildly, for all the reasons given already.

If you already have premises in mind, can you ask the agent / landlord what the current utility bills are? Failing that, can you get some details of a few potential properties and ask the same question? But it's the same as with domestic usage, you can maybe have a target figure, but it costs less to heat and light our home once all the teenagers who wander in and out of every room, leaving all the lights on and a trail of music blasting behind them, go back to Uni each term ...

paulwf

On a general note all I can say is commercial electricity bills are scary...all that equipment running 24/7 puts it in a different ball park compared to domestic usage. Staff simply don't give a toss about energy efficiency and while you can put energy saving measures in place it is difficult for an older building. If you are in retail you might as well give up trying to heat the place as the door will constantly be left open.

Mattty

seismicryan wrote: »

I am working on a business plan, and I am trying to estimate electricity costs etc...

does anyone know of any resource or chart etc where you can simply look up a building use and square footage and get an estimate of cost? Im sure such a thing must exist but I cannot seem to find it using google..

Thanks
Ryan

The Carbon Trust have bench mark figures for different sectors and building types.

You will need to register with them to access the documents. Link here

We use these for our energy audits to give businesses an idea of how they compare to industry averages.

Mattty

paulwf wrote: »

On a general note all I can say is commercial electricity bills are scary...all that equipment running 24/7 puts it in a different ball park compared to domestic usage. Staff simply don't give a toss about energy efficiency and while you can put energy saving measures in place it is difficult for an older building. If you are in retail you might as well give up trying to heat the place as the door will constantly be left open.

If you are in retail. You may want to consider an Air Curtain above the door. This can help keep the heat in.

How staff behave will partially depend on how they are treated and what training they have.

With regards to equipment running 24/7. You need to ask yourself does it need too or could a simple plug in timer solve the issue. Many pubs and shops leave drinks fridges and vending machines (with non perishable goods) on 24/7. Switching these off overnight can save over £150 per fridge per year. Cost of a plug in timer, maybe a fiver. You just set the fridge to come on an hour or two before opening time. Some people believe this uses more energy. To those people I suggest you try it and use an energy monitor to see for yourself.

Yes, commercial utility bills can be confusing and the roll over trap is a real issue for many people. When negotiating over the phone make sure you check the standing charge. A lot of people go just by the unit rate, but standing charges can vary from a few pence a day to a few pounds a day.

seismicryan

Thanks for the feedback guys... the "carbon trust benchmarking" may be what I am after so I will look into that..

I havnt got a place in mind, and the other facilities similar do not realy have an "owner" I can speak to, as they are council run...

Thanks
Ryan

paulwf

Mattty wrote: »

If you are in retail. You may want to consider an Air Curtain above the door. This can help keep the heat in.

How staff behave will partially depend on how they are treated and what training they have.

With regards to equipment running 24/7. You need to ask yourself does it need too or could a simple plug in timer solve the issue. Many pubs and shops leave drinks fridges and vending machines (with non perishable goods) on 24/7. Switching these off overnight can save over £150 per fridge per year. Cost of a plug in timer, maybe a fiver. You just set the fridge to come on an hour or two before opening time. Some people believe this uses more energy. To those people I suggest you try it and use an energy monitor to see for yourself.

Yes, commercial utility bills can be confusing and the roll over trap is a real issue for many people. When negotiating over the phone make sure you check the standing charge. A lot of people go just by the unit rate, but standing charges can vary from a few pence a day to a few pounds a day.

Thank you that has given me some things to think about...will add it to my list of things to do

globalds

There are legal requirements for air leakage now.

There is a site here that has drawn up some figures for leakage that look about right (maybe the best practice stuff is a bit hopeful)

http://www.leakagetesting.co.uk/air-leakage-testing.html

the legal requirement for a new building is 10m3 / hr/m2.
The company I work for has people who test to this standard ...my work is slightly different but still involves building integrity.

You really would be better off just looking at the old utility bills for any building you are interested in as it would give you a simple but accurate indication of the running cost of the building.

As for power usage of any plant installed, you may have to look at specific manufacturers for each item you are installing