TL;DR – the short answer
Daytime cleaning can cut energy costs because the building no longer needs lights, heating or cooling running for extra hours after staff leave. How much you save depends on how long your building currently stays “on” for cleaners. The latest government figures show non-domestic electricity averaged 24.51p per kWh in Q2 2026 (DESNZ). In offices, lighting is 15.5% of electricity use and heating is 44.9% of all energy use (ECUK 2026). Even a couple of hours a day adds up, but the business case also has to cover disruption, security and service quality.
For decades, office cleaning has happened out of sight: early mornings, late evenings, sometimes overnight. It keeps cleaners out of the way, but it also means lights, heating, cooling and lifts often run for hours after everyone else has gone home. As energy prices stay high and organisations chase net zero targets, more facilities managers are asking a simple question: what if we cleaned during the day instead?
This article looks at the latest UK energy data, shows how to estimate the savings for your own building, and weighs the practical pros and cons.
24.51p
Average non-domestic electricity price per kWh including Climate Change Levy, Q2 2026
Source: DESNZ, 2026
15.5%
Share of office electricity used for lighting in 2025
Source: DESNZ, ECUK 2026
44.9%
Share of all office energy used for space heating in 2025
Source: DESNZ, ECUK 2026
Daytime cleaning means scheduling most routine cleaning, such as emptying bins, vacuuming, washroom and kitchen servicing and touchpoint cleaning, during normal working hours while the building is occupied, rather than before opening or after close. Some tasks, such as machine scrubbing, deep cleans or noisy work, may still be done out of hours. It is sometimes called “day cleaning” or “daytime janitorial”.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Quarterly Energy Prices release, published on 29 September 2026, shows [1]:
In other words, electricity costs non-domestic users more than four times as much per kWh as gas, and it powers most of what runs when a building is opened up for evening cleaners: lighting, ventilation, lifts and often cooling.
DESNZ’s Energy Consumption in the UK 2026 (ECUK), published in September 2026, breaks down energy use in the services sector by end use. For 2025 it shows [2]:
| End use | Offices | All services sector |
|---|---|---|
| Lighting (share of electricity) | 15.5% | 22.8% |
| Cooling and ventilation (share of electricity) | 18.9% | 13.4% |
| Space heating (share of all energy) | 44.9% | 51.2% |
Overall services sector energy consumption fell 2.9% between 2024 and 2025, with output up 1.4%, taking services energy intensity to its lowest level in the series [3]. Organisations are getting more efficient, but lighting, ventilation and heating are still the big loads, and they are exactly what tends to stay on for cleaners.
A note on the data: ECUK’s end-use figures are modelled from survey-based building energy research, so they are national averages, not a measurement of your building. Your sub-meter or BMS data will always be a better guide.
The saving comes from the hours the building no longer needs to be “on”. Here is a simple way to estimate it, using an illustrative office. The figures are examples, not benchmarks.
| Step | Illustrative office | Your building |
|---|---|---|
| A. Load that stays on for cleaners (lighting, ventilation, lifts) | 15 kW | From your BMS or sub-meters |
| B. Extra hours per working day | 2 hours | Cleaning window after occupancy |
| C. Working days per year | 250 | — |
| D. Electricity saved (A × B × C) | 7,500 kWh | — |
| E. Price per kWh | 24.51p (DESNZ Q2 2026 average) | Your contract rate |
| Estimated annual electricity saving (D × E) | ≈ £1,840 | — |
For a multi-floor building, or one where heating or cooling also stays on, the figure can be several times larger. The opposite is also true: if your cleaners already work within occupied hours, or you have good zoned lighting controls, the saving will be small. The point is to measure, not assume.
| Concern | How to manage it |
|---|---|
| Noise and disruption | Use quiet, battery-powered vacuums; schedule noisy tasks for lunch or after hours |
| Access to desks and meeting rooms | Agree zones and times; clean meeting rooms between bookings |
| Slip risks on wet floors | Use low-moisture methods and signage, and schedule machine floor care for low-traffic times |
| Confidential areas | Agree escorted or out-of-hours access for sensitive rooms |
| Tasks that can’t be done in the day | Keep a small out-of-hours or periodic team for deep cleans and machine work |
For many sites, the answer isn’t all-or-nothing. A hybrid schedule moves routine servicing into the day and keeps a short early-morning slot for floor care and kitchens. That still removes most of the evening “building on” time. Combining it with occupancy data, so cleaning follows actual use rather than a fixed rota, is the approach we described in our article on smart, data-led cleaning.
Before you switch to daytime cleaning
Changing when cleaning happens is a scheduling question first, and flexible scheduling is something we already offer. Prime Facility Services is an owner-managed commercial cleaning company with over 20 years’ experience, based in Telford and Dudley and serving Shropshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands. We hold ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 (since 2010) and Safecontractor (since 2013).
Whether you want a full switch or just want to test the idea, these services support a daytime or hybrid model:
Flexible schedules designed to minimise disruption to your daily operations, with cleaning plans tailored to your building and regular quality checks.
Digital time and attendance tracking that records when cleaning actually takes place, which is useful when comparing schedules against energy data.
Restoration and maintenance of marble, ceramic, quarry tile, hardwood and vinyl floors. Machine work like this can stay out of hours in a hybrid model.
DBS-checked cleaners who can work alongside your staff during the day, supported by digital cleaning audits.
What a daytime cleaning trial can include
Most buildings end up with a hybrid, with routine work during the day and specialist work out of hours. A review after the first few months shows whether the model is worth extending to the rest of the site.
Ask about a daytime cleaning trial for your building
Call 0800 566 8894 or tell us your current cleaning hours and we’ll suggest a one-floor pilot.
It can. If lights, ventilation, heating or cooling currently stay on for evening or early-morning cleaners, moving cleaning into occupied hours reduces the hours those systems run. The size of the saving depends on your building.
DESNZ figures show the average non-domestic electricity price including Climate Change Levy was 24.51p per kWh in Q2 2026, up 2.0% on a year earlier.
DESNZ’s Energy Consumption in the UK 2026 indicates lighting accounted for about 15.5% of office electricity use in 2025. Space heating was about 44.9% of all office energy.
It can be if it is poorly planned. Quiet cordless equipment, agreed zones and times, and keeping noisy or wet tasks out of busy periods keep disruption low.
Typically machine scrubbing, carpet extraction, deep cleans, and work in confidential or high-security areas. Many sites use a hybrid model.
Multiply the electrical load left on for cleaners (kW) by the extra hours per day, the working days per year and your price per kWh. Add heating or cooling savings if those systems also run longer.
In most offices, yes, as long as the schedule is planned around how the building is used. Prime Facility Services offers flexible office cleaning schedules, and its digital time and attendance tracking shows when cleaning takes place, which helps when measuring energy savings. Call 0800 566 8894 to plan a trial.
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