We compare business gas and electricity from 20 plus suppliers for self-service launderettes. Typical bills run £4.3k to £42.1k a year and businesses that switch with us save 40 per cent on average, typically 30 to 50 per cent. The figures on this page are estimates from published UK benchmarks, not quotes.
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What a typical launderette uses and pays across the UK, from published benchmarks.
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.
Coin, card or app operated self-service laundry shops. Typically 8-20 washer-extractors and 6-15 tumble dryers on long or unattended opening hours, often with a service wash counter alongside. The UK sector has fallen from an estimated 14,000 units at its 1960s-70s peak to around 2,000 today, with energy costs named as a leading pressure. Almost all are independent owner-operators holding their own supply contract, which makes them a strong fit for switching.
The dryer bank is the bill. On most launderette sites drying is well over half the energy the building uses and it runs at full rate whether the drum is packed or half empty.
Gas dryer fuel that cost around 3p a kWh before the energy crisis now costs around 7p to 8p, and the machines were bought on the old maths.
Machines twenty years old cost more to run and are harder to keep going than a modern equivalent, so an inherited machine bank quietly taxes every wash you sell.
Long or unattended opening hours mean lighting, extraction and standby load carry on long after the last customer leaves, on a supply that is often on a rollover nobody chose.
Typical equipment loads across launderettes, dry cleaners and laundries, with annual kWh and cost bands from published benchmarks.
| 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 the dryer bank for a month. It is almost always the largest line and it is the one that responds fastest to a change in machine settings.
Turn on moisture sensing or shorten default dryer cycles. Customers rarely notice, and over-drying costs you money every single load.
Replace the oldest two or three machines first rather than the whole bank. Twenty-year-old machines cost more to run and more to repair than a modern equivalent.
Check whether your dryers are gas or electric and price the two fuels separately. Many launderettes are quoted as an electricity-only site when they have a real gas load.
Put your contract end date in the diary six months ahead. Out-of-contract rates on a launderette meter cost far more than they would on a normal shop meter.
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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