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With rising utility prices, understanding how to save money on restaurant business energy bills has become a priority for restaurant owners looking to protect their margins without compromising on quality or service.
Investing in energy efficiency is a great way to reduce the monthly energy cost for your restaurant whilst improving the experience for your diners and staff. In this guide, we take a look at the average energy costs for restaurants, and how investing in sustainability could actually save your restaurant money.
Running a restaurant is an energy-intensive operation, with food preparation, refrigeration, ventilation, lighting, and cleaning all contributing to high energy consumption.
The exact amount you spend on energy for your restaurant will depend on a number of factors such as your consumption, your opening hours, the intensity and scale of your operations, your current energy contract or strategy, and any sustainability or efficiency measures you already have in place.
In the UK, monthly energy costs for restaurants can vary widely, but typical monthly costs fall within these ranges:
Source: Energy Costs.co.uk
On average, many independent restaurants spend around £2,000-£4,000 per month on combined electricity and gas. The biggest energy consumers in restaurants are typically refrigeration systems and freezers, which typically run 24/7, cooking appliances such as ovens and fryers, and heating and hot water for cleaning.
Common misconceptions around sustainability tend to be that it is expensive, involves sacrificing customer experience, or is simply a ‘nice to have’ rather than a necessity. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, sustainability initiatives can actually have a positive impact on the amount you’re spending on overhead costs, as well as having other benefits for your business.
Inefficiencies are often hiding in plain sight. In some kitchens, only around 40 per cent of the energy consumed is actually used in food storage and preparation, with the majority lost as excess heat or wasted through outdated equipment and inefficient practices. This highlights a significant opportunity for energy saving for restaurants, to both reduce environmental impact and cut unnecessary costs.
Some of the most common methods of energy saving for restaurants include:
This is because they emit very little heat, unlike traditional bulbs. Incandescent bulbs waste around 90% of their energy as heat, and fluorescent lights lose roughly 80% in the same way. By converting more energy directly into light, LEDs provide the same brightness while using far less power. By switching to LEDs to light up your dining areas, kitchens and exterior, you can make small savings on your monthly energy bills that really stack up over time.
They work by creating a thermal barrier to prevent cooled air from escaping and keeping warm air out, which reduces the workload on compressors and HVAC systems.
By carefully designing a menu around locally sourced ingredients, restaurants can reduce transport-related energy use and lower costs. Using seasonal and local produce not only supports nearby suppliers but also cuts down on the environmental impact of long-distance distribution. Effective menu planning also helps minimise food waste by ensuring ingredients are used efficiently across multiple dishes.
You could even take things a step further by growing your own herbs or produce, which will reduce reliance on external suppliers, and create a unique selling point that will appeal to green-minded diners.
A detailed audit reviews all areas of operations, from kitchen equipment and lighting to heating, ventilation, and refrigeration, highlighting inefficiencies, unusual usage patterns, and potential faults. This allows restaurant owners to take targeted action and track progress over time, ensuring that any changes made continue to deliver savings and support more sustainable operations.
Simple changes, such as pre-scraping dishes instead of rinsing continuously and training staff on water-saving habits, can further reduce both water and energy consumption. You should also regularly check for leaks, and fix them as soon as possible, it may seem small, but a dripping tap can waste as much as 1,825 litres of water per year.
When appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, and ventilation systems are not properly maintained, they have to work harder to perform the same tasks, which increases energy consumption and operating costs. Simple, regular maintenance like cleaning fridge coils, checking door seals, descaling dishwashers, and servicing HVAC systems can improve efficiency and extend the lifespan of your equipment.
Routine inspections of the building itself, such as fixing draughts, repairing damaged insulation, and ensuring windows and doors close properly helps maintain stable indoor temperatures, reducing the need for excessive heating or cooling. Preventative maintenance also helps identify small issues before they become costly problems, avoiding breakdowns that can disrupt operations and waste energy further down the line.
Restaurants typically have consistent daytime energy demands, for things such as refrigeration, lighting, and food preparation which make them well-suited to solar technology. Excess generated energy can also sometimes be stored in batteries or fed back into the grid, depending on the system in place.
Induction cooking in particular reduces wasted heat by transferring energy directly to the cookware, making it both quicker and more efficient than traditional methods. Newer dishwashers and ventilation systems are also built to minimise energy and water use without compromising effectiveness. Although upgrading equipment requires an upfront investment, the long-term savings on energy bills and reduced maintenance costs can often outweigh the initial costs.
In addition, modern equipment can improve kitchen productivity by creating a more comfortable working environment by reducing excess heat and noise.
Energy efficiency and sustainability go hand-in-hand and can also provide a number of benefits for restaurants.
For example:
It is estimated that restaurants can typically cut costs by 10-30% by implementing energy efficiency improvements such as optimising lighting, upgrading appliances and mindful use of energy.
As sustainability continues to gain importance, adopting efficiency in your restaurant demonstrates your commitment to responsible business. Strong sustainability credentials can also act as a unique selling point for your business, catering to a green-minded customer base.
Energy waste is common in restaurants, with significant amounts lost as heat or through inefficient practices. By improving energy efficiency, you can reduce unnecessary waste, lower your operating costs, and make better use of the energy you consume.
Energy prices are volatile and can spike quickly, leaving restaurants exposed to market fluctuations. Improving energy efficiency reduces your overall energy consumption, helping to limit the impact of market spikes.
Energy efficiency for restaurants helps you stay ahead of environmental regulations and standards. By improving performance, you reduce the risk of compliance costs and penalties.
Energy-efficient appliances and systems are often put under less strain, which can extend their lifespan. This can reduce maintenance costs in the long run and minimise the need for unexpected repairs further down the line.
Efficient energy use can create a more comfortable kitchen and dining space by reducing excess heat, improving ventilation, and keeping temperatures consistent. This can support staff wellbeing and productivity as well as improving the atmosphere for diners.
At Consultus Sustainability, we support businesses across the restaurant and hospitality sector with solutions designed to help improve efficiency and reduce cost.
No matter where you are on your net zero journey, our Net Zero Pathway service is designed to meet you there. Whether you’re starting from scratch or building on existing initiatives, we offer a flexible range of services that can be tailored to your needs. We’ll work with you to create a clear, practical roadmap for your restaurant, guiding you step by step towards your net zero goals, whilst significantly reducing your costs along the way.
Business energy audits are a great starting point for restaurants that want to dive deeper into the way they use energy. They provide a clear picture of where energy is being consumed across the business and highlight areas of high usage and potential waste as well as helping to uncover practical opportunities to reduce costs without compromising service or quality.
When improving your restaurant’s sustainability, it’s essential to consider Scope 3 emissions. These can account for 70–90% of your total carbon footprint and are becoming an increasingly important part of reporting requirements.
Consultus Sustainability can support all your Scope 3 reporting needs by collecting high-quality data from across your supply chain and assessing your overall environmental impact. We also provide practical guidance to help you begin reducing these emissions effectively.
Our Discover Cultural Engagement tool allows you to ‘walk through’ a digital version of your restaurant and spot areas where energy is being used, and where it can be saved. This is a great way to get your whole team involved with your sustainability initiatives in a fun and engaging way.
To find out more about how Consultus Sustainability can help your restaurant save on energy bills and become more sustainable get in touch today.
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