More and more cities, such as New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco, are requiring some level of energy audit to be performed on certain buildings. This blog has emphasized the many direct financial benefits of performing an energy audit. However, it should be understood that an audit is an investment of money for the purposes of saving many times the amount over the years. For those who must or desire to perform an energy audit, it is important to do it right. A hastily designed or poorly executed audit can cost you more money than it should and diminish benefits. Here are some tips for working with your auditors to maximize your financial benefits:

1. Data quality. In my experience, this is the number one potential problem that can drag down an energy audit. An auditor can only develop good ECMs with reasonable estimates of benefits and paybacks with reliable, quality data. Be sure to invest the time to gather the right data the auditor needs ahead of time. The auditor will need at least 12 months of energy bills (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil deliveries, etc.), an inventory of major equipment, including make, model #, size, and age, and usage information (hours that operations generally occur, thermostat settings, etc.). I can’t tell you the number of time intelligent people have provided me with incorrect data, such as misreading units (like cubic feet vs. therms); provided (wrong) assumptions, not data; did not want to go on the roof to read a nameplate or misread it! With such inaccurate data, the findings will be off and certainly not useful to you. Invest the time ahead of time to get it right and, ideally, keep automated records of your energy data (electronic is fine).

2. When to do your audit. A growing market for energy efficient equipment means ever-improving technology. There are those who say, “Hey, if I wait a year to do my energy audit, the options will get even better.” That might be true, but with that attitude you can be stuck using old technology year after year, wasting electricity and fuel and costing yourself money now. A rough rule of thumb: if you perform a thorough energy audit once every 5 years, you will probably find enough potential upgrades in technology to make it worthwhile.

3. Don’t be overly simplistic. Some energy auditors focus only on lighting because of its simplicity. Hey, screw in some more efficient light bulbs, save money right away. Easy to understand. But, a good energy audit should encompass not just replacing lights with more efficient ones, but also controls on the lighting (turning them off when room is not in use), improving daylighting, and other features. The entire building envelope needs to be looked at, not just, say, windows. And then comes HVAC: your boilers and AC units. These are the most complicated, but often directly relate to your total energy use. Make sure your energy audit covers all of these areas thoroughly.

4. ECM benefits are not always additive. A good energy audit will provide a variety of ECMs. It is tempting to total them up and expect certain energy and cost savings by incorporating all of them. This is not always true. Several solutions may address the same problem. For example, installing both a sky light and occupancy sensors will decrease the need for artificial lighting, but their effects are not additive. In either case, people will be detered from putting on some fixtures. Be careful to look at ECMs holistically to determine total benefits.

5. Be careful analyzing cost benefits. The highlight of an energy audit report is how much money you will save and the payback period for your investment in upgraded technology. Many audits will simply tell you that, for example, new, high-efficiency light fixtures will cost you $X and save you $Y per month in electricity; the payback is simple math. However, it can be more complicated than that. Usage and savings may change over time. There may be a need for electricians to rewire or contractors to make other changes to an area (or the whole building). These upfront costs must be included, as well. Cost savings may also be underrated. The new fixtures will probably last longer than the old ones, meaning Maintenance can spend less time changing bulbs and more time doing other things, saving you costs and reducing risk of climbing up and down those ladders (perhaps, lowering your insurance premiums?). Reducing electricity usage this way also lowers your peak usage, too, which for some can represent a big cost savings. So make sure your cost benefit analysis is comprehensive.

6. Make sure selected ECMs are properly installed. OK, you have selected a few ECMs that make sense, have good ROIs, and won’t disrupt your operations. Now it is important to work with reliable contractors and suppliers to ensure that they are properly installed. Many an energy-saving, even potential LEED-certifiable, project has been derailed by contractors who don’t understand the project goals and cut corners to maximize their profit. As a result, the goals of the ECM or design are not met. Make sure you do your homework that the supplier of the chosen technology has a track record and will install quality equipment, even if that means paying a little more. There are stories out there of LED lights not of high quality and not delivering the light promised or that break down. It makes sense to pre-qualify suppliers and contractors to ensure high quality and meeting your energy reduction goals. It is also important to test equipment after installation to demonstrate that they meet your goals. Be sure testing and standards are in the contract. Finally, invest in training, if applicable, for your staff to operate equipment or troubleshoot problems when they come up in order to maintain the good performance and energy and cost savings over time – to get your payback on time and benefits continuing for the long term.

CCES has the experience and technical knowhow to perform meaningful energy audits of a wide variety of building types to maximize your financial benefits and comply with ever growing regulations. Contact us at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.