What Does a Commercial Energy Audit Entail?

So, your company is looking to start saving money by embracing energy-efficient methods. Energy audits are great for finding out where the energy in your building goes. What exactly does a commercial energy audit entail? We hope to answer that question and more below as we take you through the commercial energy audit service process.

Review Your Energy Bills

Before the pros get started, they have to learn the lay of the land. The first thing your energy auditor will do is collect your facility’s utility bills that indicate historical iterations of energy consumption. These documents are usually spreadsheets or PDFs designed for this purpose, and you can easily request them from the utility company. Ideally, the energy auditor would want a year’s worth of records before they begin. If you want the energy auditor to take thorough stock of everything, prepare by collecting those records ahead of time.

Evaluate Existing Systems

Expect the auditor to scrutinize your facility so they can get data on-site. Prepare your facility manager to walk the auditor through the building. You can expect them to pay special attention to HVAC units, water heaters, boilers, chillers, and other equipment to determine factors affecting energy efficiency. Such factors include age, performance, and life expectancy. Expect the auditor to take pictures and notes of the process; they want to be as thorough as possible. This evaluation is one of the main things a commercial energy audit entails.

Follow the Report

After the audit, you’ll get a report reviewing various pain points in the structures the auditors found. They’ll also suggest solutions to these issues. Their findings are based on quantitative and qualitative data collected from your building and utility history. The company's engineer should be able to give you this information and package it in a simple way for you to understand. You’ll be able to make better decisions about your company’s energy efficiency measures.