Launderettes, dry cleaners and commercial laundries burn more energy per square foot than almost any other UK small business. We compare 20+ suppliers free; businesses that switch with us save 40% on average, typically 30 to 50%, against out-of-contract, deemed and rollover rates. Every figure on this page is a modelled estimate, not a quote.
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Understanding where the energy goes is the first step to paying less for it. Here is what typical laundry usage looks like across the UK.
Figures are estimates from published UK benchmarks priced at 25p/kWh electricity, 7p/kWh gas and about £365 a year in standing charges. They are not quotes. See how we estimate.
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Each page has the typical bill, the equipment that drives it and the questions owners ask us most. Pick the closest match; you can refine it in the quote.
Typical bill £4.3k–£42.1k a year
Biggest load: Bank of coin-operated washer-extractors heating wash water on every cycle
See launderette energyTypical bill £5k–£35.9k a year
Biggest load: Dry cleaning machine with solvent chiller, still and drying/recovery cycle
See dry cleaner energyTypical bill £21.7k–£245.4k a year
Biggest load: Steam boiler supplying wash water heating and finishing equipment
See commercial laundry energyTypical bill £7k–£240.4k a year
Biggest load: Washer-extractors running sanitising cycles at 60-75C
See hotel or care linen energyTypical bill £8.4k–£253.9k a year
Biggest load: Tunnel washer or heavy-duty batch washers on high-temperature programmes
See workwear or PPE laundry energyTypical bill £3.3k–£26k a year
Biggest load: Semi-commercial washing machines running mixed customer loads
See ironing or wash service energyLaundry is one of the few trades where energy is a production input rather than an overhead. Water heating, tumble drying and steam for presses and finishers routinely make up the majority of a site's total energy use, and the Textile Services Association puts energy at around 10% of a commercial laundry's entire cost base. Carbon Trust figures put the UK industrial laundries sector at roughly 743,651 tonnes of textiles a year across about 134 sites using about 1,254 GWh, a benchmark of around 1.7 kWh for every kilogram that leaves the building, while smaller commercial and on-premises laundries run at 2.0 to 2.9 kWh per kilogram. Meanwhile the self-service launderette sector has shrunk from an estimated 14,000 units at its peak to around 2,000 today, with rising energy charges named as a leading cause. Almost all of these businesses are independent, owner-operated and hold their own supply contracts, and a large share sit on rollover, deemed or out-of-contract rates after a lease change or a missed renewal window. On volumes this high, a penny on a unit rate is real money. Smart Energy Switch compares the whole market for you, free, and handles the paperwork.
Gas-heated tumble dryers that now cost around 7p to 8p a kWh to run against roughly 3p before the energy crisis, cycling back to back whether the drum is full or half empty.
A steam boiler brought up to pressure first thing and held there all day for the presses, form finishers and cleaning machines, firing through every quiet hour between garments.
Washer-extractors heating wash water to 60-75C on every single load, which in most laundries is the single largest energy demand in the building.
Long or unattended opening hours with extraction fans, lighting and standby load running on a site that has often been left on deemed or out-of-contract rates since the last lease change.
The kit that dominates the bill, with the annual kWh and cost bands we see in published benchmarks. Knowing this helps us match a tariff to your usage pattern.
| Equipment | kWh a year | Cost a year (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial washer-extractors (bank of 6-12) | 8,000–35,000 kWh | £2,000–£8,750 |
| Gas-heated tumble dryers | 25,000–120,000 kWh | £1,750–£8,400 |
| Electric tumble dryers | 12,000–55,000 kWh | £3,000–£13,750 |
| Steam boiler feeding presses and finishers | 20,000–90,000 kWh | £1,400–£6,300 |
| Dry cleaning machine and solvent chiller | 6,000–22,000 kWh | £1,500–£5,500 |
| Rotary ironer, hot water and extraction | 7,000–30,000 kWh | £1,750–£7,500 |
Sub-meter your dryers for one month. Drying is typically the largest single line on a laundry bill and you cannot cut what you have never measured separately.
Fit or enable moisture-sensing dryer controls so cycles stop when the load is actually dry instead of running a fixed timer to the end. Over-drying is pure waste and it damages fabric.
Lag steam pipework, condensate returns and boiler flanges. Bare pipe and unlagged valves in a warm, humid laundry lose heat continuously, every hour the boiler is live.
Push service washes and non-urgent bulk loads off peak where you are on a day/night or three-rate meter, and check whether your metering profile still matches your real trading pattern.
Never let a supply roll over. Out-of-contract and deemed rates hurt a laundry far more than a shop because the volume is so much higher. Diarise your renewal six months before the end date and lock ahead.
Illustrative example
Around 14 washers and 10 gas dryers, open seven days
Gas dryers and hot water are the product itself, so energy is often a quarter of turnover.
Illustrative example, not a real customer. Figures are estimates based on published UK benchmarks. See how we estimate. See all worked examples.
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