Business Energy for Pubs and Bars

Because it is a chilled box that runs every hour of every day. The British Beer and Pub Association puts a cellar at 5 to 15% of a pub total energy cost. Within the cellar, cooling accounts for 44% of the energy and the remote beer and soft drink coolers a further 42%, with everything else making up the last 14%.

The BBPA puts a typical beer cooler at around £450 a year in electricity, and most cellars have two or three remote coolers. They usually run 24/7, including overnight when nothing is being poured.

Controls come first. Timers or an integrated cellar monitoring system can shut the remote coolers down when you are closed, saving around £100 a year on a beer cooler and £50 on a soft drink cooler, which the BBPA puts at about £250 a year for a typical pub. Payback can be under a year.

Yes, and most cellars are not doing it well. The BBPA found only 40% of pub cellars are adequately insulated, and a poorly insulated one costs £200 to £300 more a year in electricity to cool. Draught exclusion, self-closing doors and filling holes are handyman jobs that often pay back within a year.

Ideally not. Anything that makes heat forces the cellar chiller to work harder, and the BBPA found 38% of cellars hold heat-producing equipment besides the remote coolers. A freezer in the cellar adds roughly £110 a year to cooling costs. Moving it out, or partitioning a warm zone, is usually the cheaper answer.

Noticeably. The BBPA found 40% of landlords either do not maintain cellar equipment or do not know what the arrangements are, and a poorly maintained or failing cellar chiller can use 25% more energy, about £250 a year.

Usually not. A pub is business premises, so the standard 20% VAT and the Climate Change Levy normally apply. Only very low-usage sites fall under the reduced 5% rate. We confirm where you stand as part of the comparison.

Often, yes. Fixing locks your unit rate and standing charge, which makes budgeting easier when trade swings with the seasons, the weather and the fixtures. We compare fixed terms from one to five years and advise on timing rather than just handing over a list of prices.

Yes. Several pubs can sit with one supplier on a single renewal date, even where the current contracts all end at different times. It cuts the admin, and the combined volume usually improves the rate.

Yes. Most suppliers offer REGO-backed renewable electricity, now often priced in line with standard tariffs, which is worth knowing if sustainability matters to your customers.