Business Energy Audits

The Expert Group understands that businesses need to stay focused on their core business activities and on the bottom line. Energy is an essential business input and energy audits are an excellent way to evaluate the main sources of energy consumption and identify key energy saving opportunities to tackle rising energy costs and reduce environmental impacts.

A comprehensive energy management plan will encompass energy saving solutions at different levels within a business including:

• Factory or system level - optimization (proper loading), and integration can ensure system maximum efficiency. In addition, implementation of new or alternate energy or process systems can improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.
• Facilities level - efficient lighting, heating, and cooling, and alternative energy can reduce energy loads – Energy Efficiency Exchange shares best practice information by industry sector, technology and energy management initiatives.
• Equipment and component level - energy efficient choices for new equipment, and the replacement of older components and equipment with higher efficiency models when feasible - energy rating information can be found on E3 Equipment Energy Efficiency.
• Preventative maintenance - ensure equipment is operating efficiently and at optimal performance.
• Organizational level - strong company commitment to energy management, employee involvement and continuous improvement (measurement, monitoring, target setting, and KPIs).
• Innovative or complementary technologies that deliver green energy solutions with compelling payback periods.

An energy management plan can be implemented by the business or as part of an energy performance contract or many of our clients request an engineer be embedded in their business for the duration of a project. This solution provides weekly or fortnightly one-on-one contact with a leading energy efficiency engineer.

What's involved in an Energy Audit?

An energy audit is a detailed assessment of where and how energy is used within your business and the most accepted methodology is in accordance with Australian Standard AS/NZS 3598.

It examines things such as electricity usage, tariffs and load profiling; lighting systems; heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems, and specific electrical devices and services. An energy audit may be conducted at three levels of detail depending on your business needs.

Level 1 Energy Audit provides a brief report that gives a broad overview of site energy use, account and tariff analysis; and a summary of high priority actions for further investigation.

Level 2 Energy Audit incorporates all aspects of a Level 1 audit but goes into greater detail involving a walk-though assessment, broad calculation of the main energy end uses (e.g. lighting, equipment). In the absence of separate metering, figures are estimated from plant ratings and operating hours, using appropriate assumptions to model energy use. It involves the identification of measures to achieve ‘predicted' savings and capital costs and savings estimates to an accuracy of plus or minus 20%.

Level 3 Energy Audit is a rigorous examination aimed at developing detailed business cases for investment and includes design and preliminary specifications for works implementation. This can be done on a whole site or individual project basis and is usually conducted following the completion of a Level 1 or Level 2 audit or similar study.

It incorporates an analysis of energy usage, involving metering, monitoring, analysis and tracking to determine where, when and how energy is used. It estimates capital costs and savings to an accuracy of plus 10% for costs, minus 10% for benefits and identification of measures to achieve ‘actual' savings. Recommendations are sufficiently detailed and accurate to enable quotations to be invited.

The outcome of the energy audit should flow into an energy management plan with an ongoing process of identifying, planning and implementing improvements in the way an organisation uses energy. These measures could be implemented by the business or be part of an energy performance contract.

Please contact us for an in confidence, no-obligation discussion on how we can assist.
Phone: 03 9592 9111
Email: inquiry@expertgroup.com.au