A commercial building energy audit process is an overall analysis of the ways that a building consumes energy. Once the energy audit is conducted on the ways and where energy is consumed, the analysis focuses on identifying ways to decrease energy usage and save money. These savings can be as minor as zero investment savings, as simple as a change in operation in order to find a more efficient route, or as large as capital investments such as purchasing all new equipment.
You can conduct an energy audit to varying degrees of depth. ASHRAE’s Standard 211 provides a tightly defined scope and consistent reporting requirements for energy audits.
It is common for utilities and service providers to offer commercial energy audits to building owners. The cost of a commercial energy audit is dependent on a number of factors, including the size of the building, the efficiency of the facility, and the level of depth and attention to detail that the audit goes into. Other variables that the cost is dependent on can include the type of business, review of assessment, and amount of available information. Many utilities offer no-cost energy audits, where the building owner can choose from a list of service providers in their area who will get reimbursed by the utility for performing the energy audit.
The business of energy auditing depends on an accumulation of problems in a building between visits:
- Equipment becoming less efficient with wear and tear
- Technologies becoming obsolete and meriting upgrade
- Programmatic changes like automated lighting and temperature setpoints being altered by maintenance staff
- Behavioral changes in building usage due to staff turnover or occupancy changes
Even though energy audits are a great kick-start to an energy efficiency initiative, the best way to maintain the lowest energy usage is to monitor continuously.
Learn more from our insight on Measuring Building Conditions Enables Better Decisions.
Building Assure has developed a solution that is designed with the small building owner in mind. Our low-cost solution provides all the necessary data to monitor energy consumption and waste, air quality, thermal comfort (temperature and humidity), water leak detection, equipment maintenance, and service quality (was the service conducted, and did it achieve the desired results). All while providing full transparency to your tenants and service contractors.
To learn more contact us at info@buildingassure.com