The energy problem for businesses beyond the gas grid
A dairy farmer in Tyrone, a hotel on the Wild Atlantic Way and a food producer on an industrial estate in the midlands have one thing in common if their premises sit outside the natural gas network: they need a fuel that arrives by road and never runs out at the wrong moment. A cold hotel in a February storm loses bookings. A grain dryer that stops mid-harvest can cost a farmer a season's crop.
For many of these businesses across the Republic and Northern Ireland, that fuel is LPG, and the supplier is Calor Ireland. Calor has delivered gas to Irish businesses for more than 85 years and now serves around 50,000 commercial, industrial and residential customers from six sites on the island. Calor bills itself as Ireland's trusted business energy supplier, and says thousands of businesses on the island run their operations on its gas.
This piece covers how Calor's business supply works, which sectors lean on it most, how small firms get cylinders on each side of the border, and what a business can do about emissions without ripping out its equipment.
Why off-grid businesses choose Calor
When a business owner picks an energy supplier, the price per litre is only part of it. They also want to know the gas will arrive on time, what happens to costs when markets jump, and whether anyone answers the phone when a burner trips on a Sunday. Calor's answers to those three questions explain most of its standing with commercial customers.
Supply first. Calor sources about 25% of its LPG from the Whitegate refinery in County Cork and the rest from within Europe, and says it doesn't rely on Middle Eastern or Russian imports. It also runs its own bulk storage, cylinder filling plants and delivery fleet. For a business that went through the energy price shocks of recent years, a supplier with domestic sourcing and its own storage is easier to plan around.
On price, Calor says its investment in storage lets it smooth out prices and offer fixed-price deals to large customers. A fixed price won't suit every firm, but for a hotel group or a manufacturer setting budgets a year ahead, knowing the energy line in advance removes one variable.
Then there's service. Calor installs and maintains its own tanks, offers remote tank monitoring so a tank can report its level before it runs low, and keeps separate emergency lines for the Republic and Northern Ireland. Existing customers order, pay and check levels through the MyCalorGas portal. None of that is exotic, but a missed delivery or a slow call-out costs a business real money, and this is the side of the job Calor has had decades to get right.
Who uses it: sector by sector
Farming
Agriculture is one of Calor's longest-standing markets. Dairy farms use LPG for hot water to wash down parlours and equipment, poultry farms use it to heat sheds where young birds need a steady temperature, and arable farmers use it for grain drying at harvest. Calor also lists game rearing and horticulture among its farm customers. In each case the demand is seasonal and hard to postpone, so a reliable delivery schedule counts for more than it would in an office.
Hospitality and catering
Hotels, pubs, restaurants and mobile caterers use LPG for space heating, hot water and cooking. Chefs who cook on gas want instant, controllable heat, and LPG gives a rural kitchen the same flame a city kitchen gets from the mains. Holiday parks and leisure centres outside the network use it for the same reasons, with large volumes of hot water on top.
Industry and manufacturing
Calor supplies factories that need process heat for steaming, roasting, boiling, baking, smelting and annealing. Its customers include distilleries and breweries, and producers of the aggregates and asphalt that go into Ireland's roads. Housing developers also use LPG on sites that aren't yet connected to the gas grid.
Transport and logistics
LPG powers forklift trucks in warehouses and factories, and burns cleaner indoors than diesel. Coca-Cola HBC has moved its forklift fleet onto Calor BioLPG to meet sustainability targets, and has described the transition as seamless. Calor also sells autogas for vehicles.
Cylinders for smaller businesses, north and south
Not every business needs a bulk tank. A café with a gas range, a food truck, a market trader, a beer garden with patio heaters or a small workshop can run happily on cylinders. Calor's range goes from 5kg bottles up to 47kg propane cylinders. How a business buys them depends on the jurisdiction.
In Northern Ireland, Calor Direct delivers cylinders to the door of homes and businesses, and the service runs in Northern Ireland only. It has local teams covering Belfast and Lisburn, Omagh, and Derry/Londonderry, and it delivers to rural premises including farms. For business accounts Calor Direct offers both bottled and bulk gas, scheduled deliveries set around trading patterns, and account support. It aims for same-day or next-day delivery where available, charges no delivery fee, and takes card payments only. A restaurant that gets through several cylinders a week can set a regular slot and hand the empties back with each delivery.
In the Republic, Calor Direct isn't available. Businesses buy cylinders from local Calor stockists instead, and Calor's site has a finder for your nearest gas cylinder retailers. For a pub or café that keeps a couple of spares in a cage out the back, a nearby stockist is usually enough. Once a business's usage grows past the point where swapping cylinders is a weekly chore, it's worth asking Calor whether a bulk tank would suit it better.
Cutting emissions without replacing equipment
Rural businesses face the same pressure on carbon as city firms, often with fewer options. Heat pumps don't suit every process, and a grain dryer or a commercial kitchen needs more heat, faster, than most electric systems give. Calor's own research found that almost half of manufacturing and production businesses are under increased supply chain pressure to become more environmentally sustainable. Big customers are asking their suppliers about emissions, and an off-grid factory still has to answer.
Calor offers three routes, depending on where a business starts.
Moving off oil
For a business still on heating oil, the first step is to switch to LPG. Calor puts the CO2 saving from oil to LPG at about 20%, and LPG also produces fewer of the local pollutants that regulators watch at manufacturing plants. The switch follows a set process: an enquiry, a consultation call, a site visit from a Calor specialist to plan the installation, the installation itself by a registered gas installer the business chooses, and a first delivery within a few days. Calor also offers businesses a free energy consultation before any of that.
BioLPG blends
The second route is for firms already on LPG, or those that want a bigger cut from day one. Calor BioLPG is a certified renewable gas made from sustainably sourced waste materials and renewable vegetable oils, and it is chemically identical to conventional LPG. It goes into the same tanks and runs through the same burners, boilers and forklifts with no modifications.
Businesses can choose a 10%, 25% or 50% blend, which lets a company match its gas to a carbon target and step up over time. On Calor's figures, BioLPG can cut carbon emissions by up to 80%. It is approved under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and fully traceable, Calor says it is exempt from carbon tax in the Republic, and it is supplied through an audited mass balance system, the standard method for renewable fuels. For a company reporting emissions to a large customer, that paperwork matters as much as the gas, so it's worth reading how Calor certifies it before you switch to BioLPG.
LNG for heavy industrial users
The third route is for larger off-grid industrial sites. Calor supplies liquefied natural gas (LNG), which brings the benefits of natural gas to sites without a grid connection and is a cleaner alternative to diesel. It is aimed at big energy users rather than small firms, and Calor offers it across Ireland.
Questions business owners ask
Is LPG available for businesses in rural Ireland and Northern Ireland?
Yes. Calor supplies LPG to businesses across the Republic and Northern Ireland, by bulk tank for larger users and in cylinders for smaller ones. It works mainly with premises outside the natural gas network.
Can a business get gas cylinders delivered in the Republic of Ireland?
Calor Direct's door-to-door cylinder delivery operates in Northern Ireland only. Businesses in the Republic buy Calor cylinders through local retailers, listed on Calor's website.
Which areas does Calor Direct cover?
Calor Direct has local teams for Belfast and Lisburn, Omagh, and Derry/Londonderry, and delivers to urban and rural premises across Northern Ireland, including farms. Belfast and Lisburn orders go to +44 28 9081 4444, and Omagh and Derry/Londonderry orders to +44 28 7186 1663.
Can a business lock in its gas price?
Calor offers fixed-price deals to large customers, which its investment in bulk storage makes possible. Smaller businesses should ask Calor what terms apply to their usage.
Will BioLPG work in our existing forklifts and boilers?
Yes. BioLPG is chemically identical to conventional LPG, so it runs in existing tanks, forklifts, boilers and catering equipment without changes. It's available in bulk and in some Calor cylinders, including forklift cylinders.
Who fills a Calor tank?
Only Calor. Calor owns the tanks it installs and maintains them, so a business can't have another supplier fill a Calor tank.
What are Calor's emergency numbers?
The emergency line is 01 291 6229 in the Republic and 0845 075 5588 in Northern Ireland.
Getting started
A business looking at Calor for the first time can book the free energy consultation through Calor's business enquiry form, and a specialist will look at the site, the current fuel and the volumes involved. Smaller users who only need cylinders can order from Calor Direct in Northern Ireland or visit a local stockist in the Republic. Firms already on Calor gas can ask their account team about BioLPG blends, which go into the tank they already have.
For an off-grid business, the questions to put to any energy supplier are where the gas comes from, how fast it arrives, and what happens when something breaks. Calor has spent more than 85 years in Ireland building its answers to those three.
