Energy Audits

The first step to achieve a rational use of energy is to perform an energy audit on the business and the different business establishments. During an energy audit, the different energy consumers and their potential savings are identified.

The audit looks in the use of energy based on the existing consumption of electricity reflected on energy bills. In fact, most energy audits start by looking into the energy bill. During the audit, the auditor shall pay particular attention to large consumers such as steam-powered appliances. Other appliances that use compressed air, refrigeration such as the HVAC system are also looked into.

For each energy saving, different parameters are measured which include the payback, Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) are all calculated. Using these parameters in conjunction with the company an energetic priority list allows the auditor to see whether a particular business is saving electricity or consuming more.

When doing energy audits, there are types of audits that the auditor does. These are:

- Quick energy audit:

Also called rapid energy audit, it aims to identify the main energy opportunities in a subsequent phase which can be developed further. For this audit, the data of energy consumption which is made available through the energy consumption bills, existing energy accounting and so on are used. After the fast energy audit is done, the audit report prepared.

- Advanced energy audit:

Also called as thorough energy audit, the advance energy audit involves the inventory of all energy flows within a company. Where necessary, additional measurements are also included in the audit. One of the bases of consumption data is the energy consumption and the flow of energy. For each energy saving, other parameters are measured which include the payback, the IRR and NPV which are also calculated to make the audit. After the energy audit is done, a detailed audit report prepared.

Energy audit is very important in order to determine whether or not the company is faring well or not. This is the reason why it is important for companies to undergo energy audit yearly in order to determine the status of your company.