The relationship between energy consumption and baggage handling systems (BHSs) has not been widely studied. In this study, this relationship is explored by considering BHS configurations - the designed arrangement of devices. The BHS consists of seven main processes: drop-off, transportation from drop-off to screening, hold baggage screening (HBS), transportation from screening to sortation, sortation, early baggage storage (EBS), and make-up. Transportation appears to cause a high share of the system's energy consumption, as it is a part of and connects several processes. An equation-based model is developed to estimate the energy consumption of BHSs with varying configurations. The model only contains parameters available at the BHS's conceptual design phase and is based on the BHS of a midsize airport in Scandinavia. It includes a series of formulas for each process, which depend on the structure of the process elements. The study proved a twofold effect of an airport’s BHS configuration on the overall energy consumption. Firstly, more process elements structured in series result in bags travelling a longer distance on the conveyor within the BHS, thereby increasing energy usage. Secondly, the parameter values for transportation impact energy consumption notably. The research suggested that more process elements structured in series decrease the overlap of device usage, which in turn reduces energy consumption.