The answer
Why is a year of bills not the whole picture?
Bills show how much you paid, but not necessarily why. Check the units used separately from the unit price, then look at operating hours and interval meter data where available. That helps distinguish a tariff increase from changed production, a fault or genuine energy waste—and tells you whether solar, storage, heating changes or simpler controls are worth considering first.
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Separate energy use from energy price
Compare kWh or fuel units and the price paid per unit on each bill. If usage is steady but the bill has jumped, procurement or tariff terms may be the main cause. If usage rose, look at when and where. A quote promising that solar will 'solve' a price change without checking how much daytime power the site consumes is not yet a business case.
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Mark changes to the business
Note longer opening hours, new equipment, more staff, shutdowns, seasonal peaks and maintenance problems. A refrigeration fault or an air-handling unit left on overnight can raise use without any change to the building fabric. Business Energy Scotland recommends comparing energy use with relevant business activity so the baseline represents what the site actually did.
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Use interval readings for the investment choice
Half-hourly electricity data can show a night-time base load, busy-hour peaks and whether daytime solar would be consumed on site. Those patterns also help test a battery or the electrical capacity for a heat pump. Keep the same data and operating notes after installation so later claims of savings can be compared fairly, allowing for weather, prices and changes in site use.
What should your first energy review produce?
Produce a simple chart of monthly electricity and heating-fuel use, with the unit prices shown separately. Add notes for new equipment, extended hours, closures and faults. If a rise appears only in spending, examine the contract; if it appears in kWh, find the activity or system that changed. Do not spend capital to solve a billing question that has not yet been answered.
Then use interval readings to identify ordinary working-day, weekend and overnight demand. Compare those patterns with the choices on the table. Solar needs a daytime load or a credible export plan; a battery needs a charge/discharge opportunity; a heat pump needs a heat-demand and temperature assessment. A strong overnight base load may justify controls or maintenance work first.
Keep this record as the before picture. After an upgrade, compare the same units of energy against similar operating conditions, not just one cheaper bill in a mild month. A free commercial survey can help FLO turn that evidence into priorities, while the business keeps the raw data and assumptions for its own investment decision.
What to check next
Your next steps
Where we checked the facts
Check the original information.
These official pages back up the rules and technical details above. They can change, so check them again before spending money or starting work.
Apply this to your own property
Where could your business save energy?
A free survey checks your bills, building use and what improvements may work at your site before you decide what to price.