What to Expect from Your Energy Use Analysis

An energy audit, or energy use analysis, offers insight in how your buildings are performing and the opportunities available for improvement. You may not want to bring an unknown company onsite without knowing what to expect. Before committing to an energy audit, we recommend gaining an understanding of what happens during a standard energy review of a facility.

Property owners and facility managers can influence future energy usage by taking steps to improve the efficiency of their buildings. Before planning changes however, you have to benchmark current energy use and determine the best next steps in order to be both thorough and effective.

To establish realistic goals and appropriately estimate the economics and scope of retrofit projects, you should always begin efficiency projects with an energy audit.

Conducting an energy audit is the first step toward achieving increased energy and financial savings for your business.

This is what you can expect from your energy audit:

• Initial meeting to kick-off the analysis

The energy firm conducting the audit will meet with you to talk about your specific goals and expectations for your building’s energy use.

• Collection of building data

An experienced energy engineer will then visit your site and examine all the energy-intensive elements of the building, such as lighting, HVAC, and mechanical systems. Throughout the process, the engineer will also interview you or the facility manager on site to get a better understanding of how the systems are working for the building.

After collecting data, they will gather images and nameplate data of various equipment onsite where possible. The process is typically completed within an hour or two (depending on the size of the building, of course).

• Engineering and project design

Once the information is gathered, the efficiency firm is able to develop a report with initial findings from the energy audit. At Mantis Innovation, the team will compile the data into a scope of work that analyzes estimated costs versus savings and also understand how to best position the projects to maximize money from the state or local utility. From there, a project can then be specifically designed to meet your operational and financial needs.

Once the project design is presented to you for approval, in some cases efficiency firms might install samples of equipment in order for you to see the new equipment and gain a greater understanding of the savings that will be realized.

• Financing efficiency projects

Your energy audit specialist should offer you the experience, knowledge, and resources to arrange both traditional and off-balance sheet financing of efficiency projects that meet project requirements and help ease the capital outlay required. No energy use analysis is complete without a road map of potential solutions - and a realistic understanding of the resources required to get it done.

The Efficiency Solutions Division of Mantis Innovation has over 30 years of experience performing energy audits at commercial and industrial facilities across the country. We have built relationships with local utilities in order to qualify projects for the highest level of utility incentives. Schedule an energy audit today to gain insight into the energy and financial savings available to you!