Discover whether you could be saving on what you pay for your care home’s gas and electricity. See the best deals from UK suppliers with Business Energy Comparison.
In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of people moving into nursing and care homes in the United Kingdom. These homes help us keep our sparkle going as we enter our golden years. A time when taking care of yourself can become rather arduous for you and your loved ones.
These facilities operate tirelessly to ensure their residents’ continued comfort and well-being. This includes having 24/7 medical assistance on hand and having their doors open to all in need of a reliable care provider.
The UK has seen unprecedented increases in the price of gas and electricity because of inflation coupled with the recent pandemic. NHS England has estimated that because of these increases, they will have to spend £400 million on energy bills for the health and care sector alone.
Additional measures have had to be implemented to help reduce business energy costs and maintain the level of care residents have become accustomed to.
Business energy can be defined as gas and electricity provided to companies and businesses. The key difference between this and its domestic counterpart is the cost.
Businesses are charged a smaller amount per unit of gas and electricity as they require significantly larger amounts of both resources. This is because the larger number of units sold makes up for this reduction in cost.
Care homes are a business at their core, and all businesses have a running cost. The elderly are more susceptible to the cold; therefore, nursing homes spend most of their electricity budget on heating, followed by the machinery needed to help residents stay healthy and in good shape.
However, this is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to caring for the sick and elderly. Other costs like food, laundry, cleaning, and entertainment are all factors that should be taken into consideration.
Because of this large gas and electricity consumption, care centres could significantly benefit from business energy deals and, in some cases, a change of energy supplier to reduce costs.
To get the ball rolling on the path toward a more energy-efficient care home, it’s important to have an energy assessment or audit done on the property. The results from the energy assessment will point out areas where the building is not performing ideally. The assessment will point out where changes can be made while still complying with building regulations.
From there, you can begin tackling each problem.
There are two main problems that are the primary culprit when it comes to buildings losing energy efficiency: heating and lighting.
When it comes to heating an average home, the recommended temperature to set is 21°C. However, the elderly and frail residents of care homes tend to lack mobility; therefore, this temperature might not be enough. It is pivotal to find a balance between manageable cost and optimal heating.
Effective energy efficiency improvements in heating are:
Most care centres that have been up and running for a few decades will most likely still use boilers that require oil or natural gasses to be heated. This older style of boiler is terribly wasteful and needs upgrading.
The upgrade’s cost may be expensive, but in the long run, studies have found that switching to a condensing gas boiler, for example, equates to energy efficiency improvements between 92 and 95%.
A house without insulation can lose up to 60% of its heat, with 35% coming through the walls and 25% coming through the roof. It’s for this reason that insulating your care home is paramount. You don’t want to lose any of that precious heat you are generating.
Loft insulation and cavity wall insulation are just two examples of what can be put up to help reduce the amount of heat lost by the building.
The 24/7 nature of a residential care home means that lighting is used all day, every day. It is an unavoidable cost of running the building, but that doesn’t mean it’s being used optimally.
Here are a few changes that could be implemented to reduce the overall lighting cost of running an old-age home.
A cost-effective way to light up the building during the day is to allow natural light to come in through the windows. Studies have shown that only 15 minutes of exposure to natural light can activate endorphins.
Having natural daylight streaming through the care facility is crucial for the mental well-being of residents who may not be mobile and, thus, can’t go outside.
Use light detectors throughout the facility for the times lighting can’t be avoided. By sensing when people are entering and leaving rooms, the sensor turns on and off the lights. This will reduce your energy consumption.
Getting LED lights also factor in to effective energy efficiency improvements. These light bulbs tend to use less electricity while still providing bright light.
The best way to reduce your business electricity bill is to install renewable technology on your premises to help reduce your energy consumption. Installing solar panels on the roofs can help generate electricity for the building.
Plus, you may find that the solar panels are generating more electricity than the facility needs. You can sell the excess back to the energy provider. This is called a feed-in tariff.
Solar panels usually last 25 or more years, making them both environmentally friendly and an excellent investment for the future.
Management of the energy consumption and lighting efficiency of care homes can be challenging but can be improved considerably through modern means.
Using smart energy management tools like smart thermostats and motion-sensing timers will provide efficiency that will repay your initial investment in no time.
You can also integrate remote monitoring into care management systems to collect data about the energy use at care homes and, in turn, help find more efficient ways to run them.
What if the energy assessment results show that your property is energy efficient, but you’re still paying shockingly large gas and energy bills? It is time to switch your care home energy supplier.
Switching energy suppliers can help you save money. The UK is a competitive market, and several companies offer cheaper rates in a bid to win customers over, so it’s worth comparing prices to see if you could save money by switching to a more affordable electricity supplier.
Switching is easy. You can find out how much you could save by comparing different tariffs online.
You’re charged an exit fee if you terminate your fixed tariff contract with a supplier before it expires. If your contract expires in less than seven weeks, you are free to switch without incurring an exit fee.
If your care home has fallen behind on its energy bills, you may wonder if switching energy suppliers is possible while you’re still in debt. The answer is generally yes, but there is one limiting factor: the energy bill you’re still owing can’t be older than 28 days.
One of the best methods to lower a care home’s power and gas costs is to find a business energy tariff or supplier that helps you save money.
Many nursing and care facilities pay too much for the energy they consume. Some are on pricey corporate energy contracts that might cost up to 70% more than the greatest energy-saving options available.
Your care home might fall into this business category of if you haven’t changed your energy provider in the past 12 months.
The best way to go about it is to consult with each supplier and request rates depending on your company’s needs to discover the best bargain.
An even more efficient option is to go onto a comparison site such as Business Energy Comparison, which can do the job for you.
Switching energy providers is a simple process that can allow you to save money. Here are the steps you need to take:
Compare business energy prices by using Business Energy Comparison to assist your company in locating cheaper commercial energy rates, helping you save money.
Business Energy Comparison is an impeccable free tool for finding regional electricity and natural gas providers. It works as a one-stop shop for comparing prices from many suppliers and finding the best deal for your business.
You can choose one of the most reliable energy providers by looking at their reliability ratings.
Typically, a UK residential care home costs around £704 a week and £2,816 a month. However, costs vary greatly among countries and regions.
In general, suppliers can offer better prices due to the great demand from residential care homes, but they must have strong negotiation skills and invest time in speaking to all suppliers.
When searching for the best deal, you should speak with all suppliers and let them give you their best rates based on your business needs, or you can let us handle all the admin and get back to you with the results.
Our team at Business Energy Comparison works with five of the UK’s largest suppliers. We can ensure that your care home gets a competitive rate.
The need for energy is a constant in care homes. Their round-the-clock operation quickly increases energy consumption when considering the lighting, heating, TV, and laundry equipment usage. There are, however, always ways to reduce your consumption and become more efficient.
Admittedly, the process of implementing these strategies will not be simple. However, if you take the time to conduct an audit of your current energy usage and consider cost-cutting measures, you will be able to make the changes with the help of your staff and residents. Compare business gas and electricity prices for your care home with Business Energy Comparison.
Care homes have such high energy costs because they operate 24/7. Heating the building, lighting it, cooking for the residents, and keeping them entertained all add up.
All the costs of maintaining a safe and clean environment contribute to the higher energy costs of care homes.
For instance, on average, a 20-bed care home uses a whopping 395,000 kWh. This is equivalent to 18 medium UK houses.
Yes. your care home can change energy providers if you are in debt, but it can’t have been in said debt for longer than 28 days.
Yes. Your care home can change energy providers if you are on a solar grid. Just remember that it’s your previous provider that is responsible for any previous feed-in tariffs you’ve accrued.
It should take approximately five business days to make the switch once you sign up for their services.
Business Energy Comparison
Corby Innovation Hub,
Bangrave Road
Corby, NN17 1NN
0800 007 4001
Trading name of Utility Bidder
