Different types of energy audits
Many points are taken into account during commercial energy audits. These can include basic factors such as how lighting, appliances, air conditioning and electrical equipment impact your total electricity consumption.
However, some businesses decide to have a more detailed survey that covers a larger number of factors including building characteristics, engineering analysis, and capital investment.
To put this into perspective, energy inspection can be separated into three main categories. Each one of these categories has a certain number of energy efficiency factors considered.
Benchmark Energy Audits
This is considered to be the most basic out of the three categories. It measures the energy output of your business through your electricity bills and previous expenditures. This information is then compared with similar-sized buildings.
Simply speaking, this inspection category uses data such as climate conditions and building size to contrast how energy efficient you are compared to others with similar data.
This can give you a good perspective on whether your business has a large or small carbon footprint. It also points you in the right direction of where you need to reduce energy usage.
Walkthrough Energy Audits
One of the most common ways of assessing energy efficiency, a walkthrough energy audit provides more detail than a benchmark audit.
As with the previous option, billing information and historic energy expenditure are considered along with new factors such as a physical building assessment and a breakdown of energy consumption.
This option covers the four main stages of an energy audit for an accurate investigation and implementation of energy-saving methods.
The report from a walkthrough energy inspection also usually contains a feasibility report. This provides you with a clear comparison between expected and achievable energy savings to best suit your needs.
High-detail Energy Audits
As suggested by the name of this third category, it is the most in-depth out of all three. It provides both small businesses, and larger ones alike, with a comprehensive report on their energy usage and expenditure.
This type of energy audit can provide your business with the best energy deals. It looks into data collection, equipment surveys, and engineering analysis along with all the factors in the other two categories.