Companies unaware of potential energy savings
20th December 2025
UK: Most UK manufacturing companies are unaware how much heat they use or how efficient their heating systems are, a new survey reveals.
Although describing that finding as a “critical blind spot” that undermines both competitiveness and decarbonisation efforts, the survey by Glasgow-based Star Refrigeration does reveal significant opportunities for UK manufacturers to cut energy costs, reduce carbon emissions and modernise ageing heating infrastructure through heat pumps and heat recovery technologies.
The survey gathered responses from around 100 major manufacturing sites across multiple sectors, including food and drinks, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Together, these industries account for a significant share of UK manufacturing output and are among the most energy intensive parts of the economy.
Fewer than one in four respondents said they could state both their annual heating energy consumption and the size of their heating plant. Where figures were reported, heating systems were operating at an average utilisation of just 24%, indicating that many sites have oversized heating infrastructure that is inefficiently operating at a fraction of its capacity.
Manufacturers rely heavily on gas for heat, with an average of 67% of demand met by fossil fuels. More than half of respondents said their heating systems were over 20 years old, while only around a third had installed heat sub-metering.
They survey data reveals that even among established manufacturers engaged in energy and decarbonisation planning, basic data on heat use is often unavailable.
“The survey confirms that there is huge potential for efficiency improvements that remains untapped simply because companies do not have the data they need to make informed decisions,” said Prof Dave Pearson, Star Refrigeration’s group sustainable development director.
Based on the findings, Star Refrigeration insists that while heat accounts for a substantial share of energy use in manufacturing, it often receives less attention than electricity in corporate energy strategies and policy frameworks. This potentially slows investment and uptake of low carbon industrial heat pumps for process heat, the company maintains.
The survey suggests that technical barriers may be lower than commonly assumed. Many respondents reported hot water demands in the range of 50°C to 70°C, temperatures that can already be met by modern industrial heat pumps.
Nearly half said they stepped steam down to hot water for their processes, a practice that can indicate inefficiencies that could often be improved through heat recovery or hybrid systems, but doing so typically requires detailed data on heat flows and demand.
Pearson said that the results highlighted a gap between technological capability and operational understanding. “The UK has the engineering capability to deploy heat pumps and recovery systems at scale. But the first barrier is not technology. It is knowing where and how energy is used across business operations.”
Data visibility appeared to play a role in shaping interest in energy optimisation and investment in renewable heating technology. Among organisations with heat sub-metering in place, 80% said they were interested in energy optimisation measures, and all said they were interested in implementing heat recovery technologies.
