Improved Efficiency. Decreased Energy Costs.
Commercial Building Energy Audits
Understanding your facility’s energy use is the first step in reducing your consumption, improving your performance, and minimizing your carbon footprint. ASHRAE, The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, has developed a series of Energy Audit levels for commercial facilities designed to identify opportunities to improve a building’s energy efficiency. These audit levels range from simple walkthroughs to identify “low-hanging fruit” inefficiencies to the development of comprehensive capital improvement recommendations. Your Enviros energy specialist will help define an Energy Audit approach that aligns with your budget and goals.
The Enviros team provides careful analysis using industry best practices to help you prioritize improvements and understand return on investment based on payback calculations.
Identify. Prioritize. Correct.
Commerical Building Energy Audits
What are ASHRAE Energy Auditing Services?
Understanding your facility’s energy use is the first step in reducing consumption, improving performance, and minimizing your carbon footprint. ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, has developed a series of Energy Audit levels for commercial facilities designed to identify opportunities to improve a building’s energy efficiency. These audit levels range from simple walkthroughs to identify “low-hanging fruit” inefficiencies to the development of comprehensive capital improvement recommendations. Your Enviros energy specialist will help define an Energy Audit approach aligning with your budget and goals.
ASHRAE Energy Audit Levels
Level I
What is a Level I ASHRAE Energy Audit?
The primary objective of this audit is to understand the overall performance of your facility relative to those of similar size, age, and use within similar climates. The process includes a review of utility consumption and an on-site survey of existing conditions including the review of your system configurations and modes of operation. Your Enviros energy team will use this data to establish the baseline for your facility and provide no or low-cost energy conservation measures to improve your building performance. Your team may also recommend additional investigations or larger capital improvements to meet energy goals if required.
Level II
What is a Level II ASHRAE Energy Audit?
A Level II Audit is intended to provide a clearer, more detailed picture of your facility’s performance, energy consumption, and operational challenges. Utility information is broken out by use to help identify inefficiencies. On-site inspections and diagnostic tests are conducted to pinpoint system issues. Your Enviros energy specialist will also interview site staff including facilities managers, operations, and maintenance personnel, and occupants to better understand your current performance and maintenance practices, and document functional deficiencies, problem areas, and enhancement objectives.
The Enviros team will then develop an energy model of your facility, perform engineering calculations, and identify potential energy conservation measures, or ECMs. The resulting report will include complete documentation of your facility’s equipment, existing conditions, and operational procedures, as well as upgrade recommendations with corresponding costs, estimated savings, and projected payback.
Level III
What is a Level III ASHRAE Energy Audit?
Sometimes referred to as an ‘Investment-Grade Audit’, this level of audit is typically used as the foundation for an energy performance contract where upgrade costs are paid for by future guaranteed cost savings. Our process starts with robust data collection and long-term trend analysis in both heating and cooling seasons using industry-leading wireless devices to collect data on equipment operations, temperatures, lighting levels, control settings, interior pressure relationships, and component failures. All data is incorporated into an energy model that simulates your building’s response to various upgrades, including major capital improvements, providing highly accurate energy and cost-saving projections. Your Enviros energy specialist will use these findings to provide prioritized recommendations for improvements along with energy savings and an anticipated payback period.
What’s in my Commercial Building Energy Audit?
An Enviros Commerical Building Energy Audit provides in-depth analysis to help you understand the energy-using systems in your facility, including how your usage compares to facilities of similar size and use, and most importantly how to reduce your energy use.
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Our multi-level approach includes on-site inspections and off-site documentation review providing a clear picture of your facility’s energy use. Your Enviros team will model your existing facility based on utility bills to assess your Energy Use Intensity [EUI]. Comparing your usage to similar facilities provides a framework to calculate the potential energy savings of proposed conservation measures. On-site inspection and testing of key building systems helps identify underperforming equipment. Your Commericial Building Energy Audit report includes grading for all MEP systems along with life-cycle cost analyses allowing you to make informed decisions on facility improvements.
Facility Information:
- Name, address, and geographic position including longitude and latitude
- Type of facility, year constructed, and a brief building description
- Gross floor area, total conditioned area, total heat and cooling only areas.
- Floors above grade and floors below grad
- Energy usage
- Total BTU’s
- Utilities cost per square foot
- Energy Star Rating
- Facility Condition Index
- Facility Operating Gross Square Foot Index
- Facility Operating Current Replacement Value Index
Equipment Information:
- Type, manufacturer name, model number, serial number, and location
- Cooling capacity in tons, voltage, or BTU’s of heating
- Age and ASHRAE life expectancy
- General condition
- Manufacturer’s service manual
- Estimated maintenance costs
- Estimated repair costs
- Replacement cost
Documented Return on Investment
Research conducted by the US Department of Energy strongly supports the financial benefits and ROI associated with building performance improvements and energy efficiency enhancements showing an internal rate of return greater than 15%.
Making the Case for Energy Upgrades
Energy efficiency upgrades often provide strong return on investment in the form of energy use reduction and other valuable non-energy benefits. A study of nearly 200 commercial energy upgrade projects found an average ROI of 15% or more. Direct energy related cost reductions are bolstered by additional widely documented quantitative and qualitative benefits.
What are the Additional Benefits of Energy Upgrades?
- Reduced O&M Expenditures
- Extended Equipment Life
- Increased Rental Value
- Improved Occupancy Rates
- Higher Net Operating Income
- Reduced Operational Environmental Impact
- Marketing + PR Value for Sustainable Practices
- Improved Indoor Environmental Quality
- Enhanced Occupant Comfort + Productivity
