I know this sounds a little extreme, I bought a small retail building in order to open up a niche store, the goal is to keep operating costs extremely low.
It has electric, gas, and H20 for utilities. Gas furnace (electric blower) and gas water heater. The first full electric bill $103.00, $9.00 of it is supply charges, the rest distribution. 126 kWh used for the month. Even if I use no electricity I am paying almost a hundred dollars a month, so being more energy efficient won't really matter.
I don't know if building codes require electricity to be turned on, but would it be absurd to have the electricity turned completely off and set up a small solar system? The gas would need to be switched to something that does not require electricity, and I would need to make it cool enough in the summer without AC. Aside from those two obstacles, the only need for electricity would be for lighting.
Stupid idea #2, I only need water for flushing the toilet and hand washing. In theory I could use a rain barrel and bring a few gallons from home, that would save $33.00 a month.
I would have to leave either electricity or gas for heat, gas has a fixed charge of $28.00 a month. If I switched to electric heat I could save that much at least, assuming the efficiency was the same.
If these things are legally allowed, is it at all practical? Will pipes and appliances deteriorate / clog / etc if not being used?
I know this is probably one of those things where if sales can't pay for utilities then you probably shouldn't be in business, but I am still curious if these things are possible, thanks.