Looking For Energy-Saving Opportunities? Get an Energy Audit.

With many new financial incentives available for energy efficiency, now is a good time to evaluate energy-saving opportunities for your business. A helpful first step: Getting an energy audit.

An energy audit is when a professional (usually a certified energy auditor) walks through a business’s facility to identify energy savings opportunities. These opportunities range from no- to low-cost opportunities – such as recommending a business install a motion sensor in a break room or turn off lights at night – to more costly upgrades, such as replacing lights, heating systems or motors with more-efficient equipment.

There are a couple kinds of energy audits (online and on-site) and several levels (walk-through "level 1" audits to detailed engineering analysis). Some utilities generously subsidize the cost of these audits, or offer them to customers at no charge. (Xcel Energy, for instance, charges $500 or less for an energy analysis valued at more than $1,500.)

Here’s how energy audits offered by utilities generally work: An energy auditor starts by analyzing a full year of energy bills for the building and uses the information gathered as a benchmark. The auditor will then do a fairly detailed survey of the building, checking the building envelope, lighting, HVAC systems, motors, pumps -- they’ll look at pretty much any equipment or system that consumes energy. A business should make sure to have an employee at the audit who best knows the building and operating procedures.

Once an audit is complete, the auditor will plug the information into a customer energy audit report. These reports take on a lot of different forms but typically include energy improvement recommendations, cost and savings estimates, utility rebate information and payback time frames. The audit report will help a business prioritize its energy upgrades and conservation strategies so it gets the best bang for the buck. (See a sample report from Xcel Energy here.)

Before you get a comprehensive audit by your electric or gas utility, you may be interested in focusing on no- and low-cost ways your business can save energy and money. Energy Smart provides complimentary business site visits and customized reports to help a business reduce its energy usage. Call Energy Smart at (651)292-4652 if you’re interested in arranging a site visit.

-- by Chelsey M. Johnson