Utilities As a Percent of Gross Sales

[Adamski]

To All,

My 2008 utilities (electric, gas, water & sewer) ran 16% of gross sales last year. That includes heating and cooling the building, running electric entrance doors and 2 LCD TV's.

I only did $2,000 in drop off laundry last year so that did little to help bring my percentage down.

Hmmmm ... I wonder ... maybe if I replace my 13 year old, "inefficient" water heater ... I can get my gas meter to run backwards.

Larry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Jefflange]

Only $2000 is drop off for the year and your store is attended full time? What percent of gross sales is your labor?

[Brett]

Would kill for utility costs in that neighborhood or even that county. Still at 28%. I need new dryers and less competition so I can raise prices. Some folks still giving 10 minutes per quarter to dry. Tops in the area are 1.00-1.50. And these are nice stores not dumps. Oh well.

[Bluestreak]

That is simply amazing. I just ran December. 40% /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Adamski]

Jeff,

My labor costs me 18% of gross sales. You have to understand ... I have never been a big fan of drop off laundry service. My attendants are trained mainly for the benefit of our self service customers.

Larry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[SEFlaundry]

Not bad at all!!

Mine was 23% for 2008. I need to shave off a couple of points in 2009...

[Steven04]

16% is extremely good, you probably have one of the lowest. Not including the solar stores. I'm in the 20% range. You might get it down to 15% if you had a condensing water heater.

[AlanR]

I can't even imagine 16%. Not yet, anyway. Set down your driink for a moment. Good! Now I'll admit that my utilities ran more than 40% of gross in '08. Here's the problems and their fixes.
First, I'm open 24/7/365 which will soon change to 16/7/365.
Next, I just installed a set-back heat/cool thermostat.
Last and worst is the water/sewer costs which were 19% of gross. I own the building which has three other businesses including a restaurant, so I eat the water bills. I sub-metered the water supply but can't charge the tenants until their leases expire and I introduce triple net leases.

[SonomaJoe]

Alan,
Sounds like you closed on the real property & the laundromat @ the same time. If this were the case, I'm sure you reviewed the leases that were in place & were able to determine if the lease rates, were below, above or @ fair market value & made an appropriate bid vs all the available information
Since you have sub-metered the building, you can project the utility expense for the laundromat (& the other tenants). Any idea?
I had a similar situation, but my tenants (shoe repair, & head shop) did not have any leases.

Staying on thread.........I have two before & after this past summers remodels......one store went from 26% to 16%, the second (eliminating all tops for Dexter fronts) went from 35% to 17%

[James2011]

statiscally, insdustry average, 17% ~ 25% ranges...

[Adamski]

[ QUOTE ]
... You might get it down to 15% if you had a condensing water heater.

[/ QUOTE ]

Steve,

I think you're right. That's exactly why I have not yet been able to justify spending thousands of dollars to replace my still working 950,000 btu water heater with a new condensing water heater. The return on the upgrade is just too small for me because my washers use very little hot or warm water. However, when my water heater's coil starts leaking, you can be sure that I'll be ordering a high-efficiency unit. I hope they have all the bugs worked out by then.

Larry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[JohnH]

I'm a little embarassed to post this, 'cause it does sound like I'm bragging. Okay, I am. My utilities-to-gross was 11.8 percent in '08. Several factors contribute to this. WDF made up 29 percent of the gross. Also, I had 3 skylights installed when we built the place, so we don't turn on the lights unless it's overcast or dark. I have great makeup air behind the dryers. And, based on what I've read here in the past, I think utility costs are quite a bit cheaper here, especially for water and sewer. The way we program our washers also helps to cut costs (but still give a quality wash!) And, oh yeah, I have tankless water heaters, but I don't want to derail this thread by mentioning their advantages.

John

[Howard]

Mine was just over 17%, but water and sewer was almost 10% by itself since our sewer costs are HUGE. Our water including sewer fees comes in at almost 2 cents per gallon! Almost as expensive as bottled water /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[epic02]

The CLA says the average is 26%
This year my store was at 25% up 2% from last year mostly due to to higher utilities. It probably would of been more if I didn't put in the 80 lb washer and the high efficiency lighting.

[Adamski]

Kenny,

By "high efficiency lighting" are you referring to the new T8 flourescent fixtures? I changed my store over to the T8's several years ago. These smaller 1" bulbs are a lot easier to change out than the larger 1.5" bulbs while providing the same amount of lumens and using fewer watts per bulb.

There are 2 ways to improve one's utility vs sales percentage. One way is to reduce utility consumption and the other way is to increase gross sales through increased volume or a higher vend price. However, lowering one's vend price in an attempt to increase volume may have the opposite effect.

Larry /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[epic02]

the new T8 bulbs.
they came in and did my place for free.

Kenny

[Steven04]

Kenny,

Is socal edison still offering it for free? I need to get it done too (still using T12's), but I've been busy with other stuff, actually been too lazy...Did your electric bill really go down or its not really that noticeable?

[Duane]

Before replacing my T12 fixtures for T8 fixtures I put a meter on one of my old lights and monitored its electric usage. I then bought one new T8 fixture and monitored its electric usage.

After the calculations I found that my lighting was using 20% of monthly electric and I was able to save $100 per month. After the tax deduction and selling my old fixtures on EBay I found it will take about 8-9 months for payback.

Of course your payback will be dependant on your electric costs. I did the install myself, very easy.

I was able to replace 35 T12 fixtures with 33 T8 fixtures.

I also put in all 6500k light bulbs (daylight) that makes the place look bright white and very clean.

Duane.

[pglover19]

[ QUOTE ]

Before replacing my T12 fixtures for T8 fixtures I put a meter on one of my old lights and monitored its electric usage. I then bought one new T8 fixture and monitored its electric usage.

After the calculations I found that my lighting was using 20% of monthly electric and I was able to save $100 per month. After the tax deduction and selling my old fixtures on EBay I found it will take about 8-9 months for payback.

Of course your payback will be dependant on your electric costs. I did the install myself, very easy.

I was able to replace 35 T12 fixtures with 33 T8 fixtures.

I also put in all 6500k light bulbs (daylight) that makes the place look bright white and very clean.

Duane.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you share with us the meter and technique used to monitor the light fixtures. Also, I am interested in the calculation used to determine the percentage of lighting cost to your overall electrical cost.

[Duane]

The meter I use is called "Kill-A-WATT"

http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.html

You can get one for around $20 or so.


I used a short extension cord cut in half and hooked the female end to the electric line and the male end to the light fixture. I plugged the fixture into the meter and then the meter into the electric line.

You can program your KWH cost into the meter and it will show you how much it costs to run the fixture for an hour, day, week and year. The longer you leave it plugged in the more accurate results you will have, I left each one (one old fixture and one new fixture) plugged in for about 10 days.

The math is easy, yearly cost (from meter) X number of fixtures = total lighting expense for one year. If 20% sounds like a lot you need to realize that your lighting, if open 24/7 is on 24/7. Where as your equipment only run a small portion of a 24 hour day.

In determining costs per KWH I use all costs associated with the electric. The KWH charge itself along with tax, demand, etc...

One non related note. Have you seen the public service announcements on TV geared toward kids reminding them that their cell phone chargers still use power even though their cell phones are not plugged in so they should always unplug the chargers when not in use to save electricity? Well I tested all of our cell phone chargers and not one of them used any power when the cell phone was not plugged in. Maybe they should have targeted TVs, computers or video games instead of cell phone chargers.

Duane.

[merlin3]

Alrighty.....hot off the presses.

Total was 14.6%

Gas .083
Electric .046
Water/Sewer .017

All frontload store. Most everything is Dexter Express stuff with the exception of 12 W-74 and 1 75# Continental.

All dryers are Dexter stacks.

Hamilton EVO.

Open 15 hours daily.

[epic02]

Steve, when they came buy my place they said is was the last day they were doing it. They were only doing Laundromats that were with Edison. They asked if I knew anyone else that needed it done. I tried sending them to a couple friends mats but they wouldn't retrofit mats that were with DWP. I haven't notice much of a difference but I'm sure it's there.

Kenny

[bodman]

Merlin3 I am starting to not like you. LOL congratulations

[merlin3]

[ QUOTE ]
Merlin3 I am starting to not like you. LOL congratulations

[/ QUOTE ]

Whut'd I do??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

JohnH is the one not to like! LOL /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I've seen his setup in person and it's pretty slick. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[EcoWash]

I am happy to announce my utilities (gas, water, electric) for 2008 were 15.86% of gross. I replaced 14 tops with Maytag Neptunes in mid 2007. 2007 utilities ran 16.73%, 2006 utilities ran 19.03%. Revenues and vend prices have both increased.
Stu

[SoooperDave]

Brett,
What kind of dryers do you have (and what age) for you to have such high gas costs ?

[petefritz]

This is more of a 3 or 4 part question..
South: a/c can be a huge % of utility
If big w/d/f then of course makes it smaller
North; heat comes from dryers, but what to heat or do you?

I think the better question is how much water and gas vs revenue to washer and dryer, both as a whole and individually. Again, the big w/d/f stores scew it. Note: not screw it!! This poll is like the 5 TPD average. Works only in limited places.

[Adamski]

Pete,

Certainly every laundromat is unique. That's why utilities as a percentage of gross sales vary so widely.

Up here in the great, white north; I have 2 high efficiency furnaces that keep my customer area at 70 degrees all winter. I also have a 28 bulb high-rise outdoor sign that is on for 4 hours a day right now. In the summer, I have 3 air conditioning units that keep temps in line.

We all have areas where utilities are used without directly producing any income. We also all have certain areas where we use utilities very efficiently. I think the opportunity to compare notes is useful because it may cause someone with a higher utility to sales percentage to re-evaluate his store. Such an action is always a useful exercise.

[petefritz]

my mats are 22% to 31% so that says nothing, well the 22% is the most profitable.. dry 25cent for 5 mins vs 25 cent for 7 mins.. 40# washer 4.50 vs $3.75. You see where location comes into play here..rent is higher though..

[Adamski]

Pete,

My dryers are 18 minutes/dollar so that's 4.5 minutes per quarter. My 40 lb washers are $5.00. So, with my slightly higher prices, my utility to gross ratio is slightly better than yours. However, my laundromat is fully attended so I have a much higher labor to gross ratio than you have.

[eighty20]

I am tracking to do 10% for November!!!
Granted it's early, but with WDF growing and our committment to being "green", it looks like its going to happen.

(btw, WDF is 1/3 of rev)

Keys for me:
Taking out soda machine that cost to run more than it made.
Daily Cleaning of Lint Traps.
Insulating Pipes
Having new Dexters

Any updates from other mat owners?

[Adamski]

Paul,

The biggest reason your utilities, as a percentage of gross sales, is so low is because your Drop Off Laundry sales are so high. A large part of those sales is justified by the labor intesive aspect of doing laundry for the customer. Therefore, a large part of its gross sales represents zero use of utilities.

[Duane]

Usually a utilities to gross percentage is used for self service mats only. No WDF, dry cleaning, etc.

For customer convenience I would consider a newer more efficient soda machine and price accordingly to make a profit.

Also, check your link to your mat. I believe it needs updated.

[eighty20]

thanks duane. (website link)

im next to a conv. store and i'd rather have a folding table instead of machine...

machine made NO $$ for me when there.

[thinkclean]

including water and sewage?

I am tracking to do 10% for November!!!
Granted it's early, but with WDF growing and our committment to being "green", it looks like its going to happen.

(btw, WDF is 1/3 of rev)

Keys for me:
Taking out soda machine that cost to run more than it made.
Daily Cleaning of Lint Traps.
Insulating Pipes
Having new Dexters

Any updates from other mat owners?

[eighty20]

yes
water and sewer-4.5%
electric-2.5%
gas-3.5%

[surfflite]

Here's mine:

water and sewer-5.3%
electric-7.2%
gas-12.7%
(25.2%)


15-30lb SQ stacks @ .35/10min (2 min cool down) avg $1.05 to dry a full load.
12-SQ tops @ $1.50 (ok, only 8 ever seem to work at any given time :) )
12-25lb SQ fronts @ $2.75
8-40lb SQ fronts @ $4.25
2-60lb SQ fronts @ $6.00

[thinkclean]

this is interesting... I have Express equipment and my electric is always higher than my gas bill. I haven't been in biz long enough to know if I'm spending more on elec or less on gas. Somebody chime in on Express energy consumption.

yes
water and sewer-4.5%
electric-2.5%
gas-3.5%

Here's mine:

water and sewer-5.3%
electric-7.2%
gas-12.7%
(25.2%)


15-30lb SQ stacks @ .35/10min (2 min cool down) avg $1.05 to dry a full load.
12-SQ tops @ $1.50 (ok, only 8 ever seem to work at any given time :) )
12-25lb SQ fronts @ $2.75
8-40lb SQ fronts @ $4.25
2-60lb SQ fronts @ $6.00