An Energy Audit is an assessment of electricity and fuel consumption within a building space with a view to managing and eliminating wastage. The evaluation could be extensive or limited, depending on the nature of the business space, scope, and purpose of the audit. Motivation for this may be due to cost or environmental consideration, however, for the average organization, the greater motivation would be cost. Hence it becomes necessary to periodically evaluate expenditure on energy to make savings therein. Money saved could then be utilized in other areas of the organization’s activities.
An audit comprises of a visit to the premises, herein a confidential survey would be undertaken via an inspection of the electrical, gas and other fuel consumption points within and around the building space . Additional information would also be obtained from utility bills for electricity, gas, water, and transportation fueling. Historical data on an annual basis would serve as useful data for undertaking the energy assessment.
Below is a list of available Audits.
- Walk-through Audits (Preliminary/ Simple)
- Mini Audits (Detailed/ General)
- Maxi Audits (Investment Grade Audits)
- Bench Marking (Comparative Audits)
The extent of an Energy Audit would depend on the focus and the amount of in-depth details required. The purpose for the audit would usually define how much information is made available as well as the extent of assessment and analysis un. A simple assessment will mainly cover electricity usage while a more extensive one would include other building services as shown below.
Below is a list of available assessments
- Electricity and diesel consumption analysis
- Electrical Installation assessment
- Lighting and luminosity assessment
- Cooling load, air-conditioning, and ventilation analysis
- Thermal load and thermographic analysis
- Acoustics and building façade assessment
- Water and waste management