Today Automated Guided Transport Systems (AGTS) as well as manually operated fork lift trucks are basic components of intralogistics. By now, the technological standard has enabled AGTS to be implemented in nearly every branch and all production areas. Particularly in distribution centres these automated ground conveyors play an important role. There are various different models which deal with the costs of ground conveyors. But concerning the energy consumption hardly any research or empirical values exist. Therefore it is the main objective of this thesis to determine the energy consumption of a manually operated fork lift truck and of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) in order to compare the results and to derive general conclusions. For these purposes measurements were made. Firstly, the respective energy consumptions were measured under standardized conditions in a test set-up and secondly under real conditions in a daily routine environment in the distribution centre of an Austrian food company. After an introduction to distribution centres with a reflection on the different processes the results of the energy measurements are discussed. Regarding the energy consumption per hour an AGV performs better than a manually operated fork lift truck- both during the practical tests as well as in the standardized test set-up. Moreover, the test results show that due to its lower handling performance the AGV’s total energy consumption is higher. For providing a given work performance it can be said that in general a manually operated fork lift truck with high consumption in a short interval of time consumes less energy than an AGV, because the AGV with a low average consumption needs more time. The energy consumption of the additional electronic components makes a great contribution to that. Based on the results it is recommended to continue the development of the electronic components, concerning their energy efficiency. Furthermore measures should be taken to allow a higher velocity for AGVs so that they can perform a higher handling performance. This thesis is completed by an analysis of the whole life-cycle-costs of ground conveyors. Major focus is put on acquisition, but in particular on operational costs. Ecological aspects are also broached.