Why is my gym's electricity bill so high?

Mostly air-conditioning. Split ACs run for many hours with the floor full of people and doors opening all day, so they usually use more units than treadmills, lights and fans put together. Fixed or demand charges on a contract demand set higher than you need add to it.

What temperature should a gym AC be set to?

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency suggests 24°C as a sensible default, and star-labelled room ACs sold in India have shipped with 24°C as the factory default since 1 January 2020. With fans moving air, most members train comfortably at 24 to 25°C.

Can a gym get the PM Surya Ghar subsidy for rooftop solar?

No. The scheme's operational guidelines give central financial assistance only to residential consumers and say non-residential segments, including commercial, get none. A gym on a commercial connection can still install rooftop solar under its state's net metering or net billing regulations, at its own cost.

Does reducing my sanctioned load or contract demand save money?

It can, if fixed or demand charges are worked out on it. In Madhya Pradesh, for example, billing demand is the higher of your actual maximum demand and 90% of contract demand, so a contract demand far above your real peak means paying for capacity you never use. Ask your discom before changing it, because exceeding it can attract penalties.

How to Cut Your Gym's Electricity Bill (Without Making It Hot)

The fastest ways to cut a gym's electricity bill are to run your ACs at 24°C instead of 20–21°C, keep them serviced and the doors closed, switch remaining tube lights to LED, and check that your contract demand and power factor aren't quietly adding charges. Air-conditioning is usually more than half the units, so that's where most of the saving is. Rooftop solar can cut the rest, but commercial connections don't get the residential subsidy.

What are you actually paying for on a commercial bill?

Gyms are normally billed under a non-domestic or commercial category, set by your state regulator's tariff order, so the rules differ by state. Most bills have the same parts:

Energy charge: a rate per unit (kWh) you consume.
Fixed or demand charge: a monthly charge per kW or kVA, based on your sanctioned load or contract demand, or on the maximum demand your meter records.
Power factor incentive or surcharge: motors and compressors pull power factor down; capacitors bring it up.
Time-of-day rates: some states charge more for units used in peak hours and less in off-peak or "solar" hours.
Electricity duty, fuel cost adjustment and other levies: state-specific.

For example, Madhya Pradesh's FY 2026-27 LT tariff schedule names "gymnasiums, health clubs" in category LV 2.2 (non-domestic). In it:

Above 10 kW connected load, the demand-based tariff is mandatory: ₹7.40 per unit plus ₹312 per kW of billing demand a month in urban areas.
Billing demand is the higher of your actual maximum demand and 90% of your contract demand.
For non-domestic connections above 10 kW, units used in peak hours (6–9 am and 5–10 pm) carry a 20% surcharge on the energy charge, and units used in solar hours (9 am to 5 pm) get a 20% rebate.
A power factor of 86% or more earns an incentive of 0.5% up to 10% of energy charges. Below 80%, a surcharge applies.

That peak window is exactly when gyms are busiest. Your state will differ, so read your discom's current tariff against last month's bill.

Where do the units go in a gym?

Load	Why it uses so much	What to check
Split ACs	Many hours a day, a hot crowded floor, doors opening constantly	Star label, set temperature, filters, service date
Treadmills	Big motors under load at peak hours	Rated motor and circuit in the manual
Lights	On 16 or more hours, often old tube lights	Wattage on each fitting
Fans, music, front desk	Small each, but always on	Switch-off routine
Water heaters	Storage geysers kept on all day	Timer, star label

ACs win because a gym is a heat factory: bodies, cardio motors and a front door that opens every few minutes.

Treadmills come next. As one example, Life Fitness's Integrity treadmill spec sheet lists a 4-HP continuous duty motor (one HP is about 0.75 kW) and asks for a dedicated 230V, 10A circuit for each machine. That's capacity, not constant draw, so the example below assumes an average well under it.

How do you cut AC costs without making the gym hot?

Set 24°C and leave it there

The Ministry of Power made 24°C the factory default for all star-labelled room ACs from 1 January 2020. BEE's FAQ on AC temperature estimates about 6% electricity saved for every degree you raise the setting, or about 24% going from 20°C to 24°C. The West Bengal discom's energy conservation tips put it lower, at 3–5% per degree above 22°C. Either way, it's real money.

The same FAQ notes that 18°C doesn't cool the room faster; the compressor just runs longer. Keep the remotes at the desk, and run fans, because moving air makes 24°C feel cooler.

Clean filters and service on schedule

The WBSEDCL tips say to clean AC filters every month, because a dirty filter cuts airflow and makes the unit work harder. Get a proper service (coils, gas pressure, drain) before peak season. Add both to your equipment maintenance schedule so they don't depend on someone remembering.

Stop the cool air leaking out

Fit a door closer on the main door. A door left open is an AC running for the street.
Use blinds or reflective film on west and south-facing glass. The WBSEDCL tips estimate shading windows and walls can cut AC energy use substantially.
If the layout allows, keep the cardio row out of the afternoon sun.

Replace by the label, not the price tag

When an old AC dies, compare the BEE star label. Room ACs carry an ISEER figure (Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio), and higher means more cooling per unit of electricity. According to the PIB release, ISEER standards from 2021 ranged from 3.30 to 5.00 for split ACs. BEE tightens the bands over time, so compare the ISEER number and the label period, not just the stars.

What about lights, fans and water heaters?

LED lighting. Replace any remaining fluorescent tubes with LED tubes. Check the wattage printed on each; the example below uses 36 W and 18 W.
Sensors and timers. The discom tips suggest motion sensors and timers for lighting. In a gym that fits washrooms, changing rooms and store rooms, not the main floor.
Fans and geysers. BEE's mandatory labelling list includes ceiling fans, LED lamps and stationary storage electric water heaters, so you can compare star ratings when replacing them. Put a timer on the shower geyser so it isn't heating water through the dead afternoon.
Closing routine. The last staff member switches off treadmills, the music system and the ACs at the mains. Note the meter reading once a week and compare it with the electricity line in your monthly expenses budget.

A worked example: one month's bill

This is hypothetical. Say you run a gym in urban Madhya Pradesh on the FY 2026-27 LV 2.2 demand-based tariff. It's open 6 am to 10 pm, which splits into 8 peak hours and 8 solar hours. Assume:

5 split ACs at about 1.6 kW each
4 treadmills averaging about 1.5 kW while running
Lights, fans, music and the desk

Estimated daily units (compressors cycle, and treadmills aren't always in use):

	Peak hours (6–9 am, 5–10 pm)	Solar hours (9 am to 5 pm)
ACs	5 × 1.6 × 8 × 75% = 48	5 × 1.6 × 8 × 50% = 32
Treadmills	22	6
Lights, fans, rest	20	12
Daily total	90	50
Monthly (30 days)	2,700	1,500

That's 4,200 units, and ACs are 2,400 of them (57%).

Energy charges

Base: 4,200 × ₹7.40 = ₹31,080
Peak surcharge: 20% × 2,700 × ₹7.40 = ₹3,996
Solar-hour rebate: 20% × 1,500 × ₹7.40 = −₹2,220
Energy total: ₹32,856

Demand charges. Contract demand is 30 kW, but the meter's highest reading this month is 20 kW. Billing demand is the higher of 20 and 90% × 30 = 27, so 27 kW × ₹312 = ₹8,424.

Bill before duty and other levies: ₹41,280.

Three changes

ACs from 20–21°C to 24°C. Assume a cautious 15% cut in AC units, well below BEE's 24% estimate: 216 peak units and 144 solar units saved. Peak units cost ₹7.40 × 1.2 = ₹8.88 and solar units ₹7.40 × 0.8 = ₹5.92. Saving: 216 × ₹8.88 + 144 × ₹5.92 = ₹1,918 + ₹852 = ₹2,770.
20 tube lights from 36 W to 18 W LED, on 16 hours a day. That saves 20 × 18 W = 0.36 kW, so 0.36 × 8 × 30 = 86.4 units in each band. Saving: 86.4 × ₹8.88 + 86.4 × ₹5.92 = ₹767 + ₹511 = ₹1,278.
Contract demand from 30 kW to 22 kW, after checking your real peak over several months. Billing demand becomes the higher of 20 and 19.8 (rounded to 20), so 20 × ₹312 = ₹6,240. Saving: ₹2,184.

Total: about ₹6,232 a month, roughly 15% of the bill, and nobody is training in a sauna. Don't cut contract demand below your summer peak: in MP, demand above 120% of it is billed at higher fixed charge rates. Plug your new electricity line into the gym profit calculator to see what it does to break-even.

Is rooftop solar worth it for a gym?

Often, if you have a usable roof and a long lease. But get the subsidy right.

PM Surya Ghar isn't for you. The scheme is for residential households, and its operational guidelines state that no central financial assistance goes to non-residential segments, including commercial and industrial. A gym on a commercial connection pays full cost.

Net metering still works for businesses. Under the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules, 2021, net metering, net billing and gross metering follow your State Commission's regulations. Where those regulations don't provide for it, the Commission may allow net metering for loads up to 500 kW or your sanctioned load, whichever is lower. Caps and credit rules vary by state, so get your discom's current regulations before taking quotes.

On a time-of-day tariff like MP's, panels produce when units are already cheaper, so ask the installer for a payback worked out against your real bill.

If you're paying for solar panels or replacement ACs over a loan, run the numbers through the equipment EMI calculator and compare the EMI with the monthly saving.

Quick wins: cost vs saving

Action	Upfront cost	What it saves
AC at 24°C, remote at the desk	Nil	Energy units, every month
Monthly filter cleaning	Nil to low	Energy units, AC life
Door closer, blinds, film	Low	Energy units
Right-size contract demand	Nil (application)	Fixed or demand charges
Capacitors for power factor	Low to medium	PF surcharge, or earns an incentive
LED tubes, sensors, geyser timer	Low to medium	Energy units
5-star AC on replacement	Medium	Energy units for years
Rooftop solar	High	Units bought from the grid

The short version

Read your state's current tariff for your category
Compare contract demand with recorded peak demand on 6–12 bills
Check power factor; add capacitors if it's low
All ACs at 24°C, fans on, remote kept at the desk
AC filters cleaned monthly, full service before summer
Door closer on the main door, blinds on sunny glass
LED tubes, washroom sensors, geyser timer
Mains switch-off routine at closing
Replace ACs by ISEER, not price
Solar: commercial rules and full cost, no PM Surya Ghar subsidy

See whether a gym business is profitable in India at your size. Tariffs and rooftop solar rules change, so check the current orders with your discom or an electrical consultant before acting.

Useful links

Cover photo: Light Bulb by Daria Nepriakhina, CC0, via stocksnap.