With net zero commitments on the rise, the push for energy efficiency may seem somewhat harrowing to business owners. However, there is a simple and effective approach that can provide businesses with numerous benefits. That is, conducting an energy audit.

There is a long-standing misconception that energy audits are time-consuming, costly and fruitless. In practice, these effective audits can unlock valuable opportunities that provide your business with financial and environmental benefits.

An energy audit involves collecting and analysing data for all energy sources being drawn by your business. Audits affect three key factors of a business. These are:

Energy audit’s fall into three different categories. These range in detail and level of accuracy, designed to help businesses understand the right choice for their facilities.

Type 1 – A basic audit

This will provide a fundamental overview of your company’s energy consumption, and a broad estimate of energy savings available from opportunities with a short payback period. These audits are usually useful for smaller businesses or larger businesses if their energy efficiency has yet to be assessed.

Type 2 – A detailed audit

This will provide a more in depth analysis of your company’s energy consumption. It will detail potential energy savings based on data and analysis of the specific equipment and operating at each site. This also includes an evaluation of opportunities based on financial criteria that will help business owners prioritise the opportunities that arise from the audit.

Type 3 – A precise subsystem audit

This is useful for larger businesses with specialist equipment or companies with substantial production facilities. These audits focus on a major subsystem, such as boilers or compressed air systems. It involves additional measures to assess opportunities to a higher level of accuracy compared to the aforementioned audits.

1. Reduced Energy Expenses

This is the most predominant benefit to business owners. Reducing energy expenses in facilities can sometimes mean a dramatic decrease in energy overheads as production costs improve.  According to ENERGY STAR, industrial facilities can reduce their energy usage by up to 30 per cent simply by using more energy-efficient technologies and business practices.

2. Identify Any Problems

An experienced auditor sometimes known as a maintenance electrician can help discover any unaccounted consumption that may exist at the facility. Particularly in large facilities, small mechanical faults can often go unnoticed until problems arise. Auditors are tasked with uncovering faults that can often result in exorbitant energy bills.

Auditors can also detect dangerous health risks, like the carbon monoxide that’s emitted from equipment that hasn’t been vented properly. With a regular energy audit, you will be able to address these kinds of issues promptly to help ensure the health and safety of your staff members.

3. Increase Employee Comfort

An electrician can often provide energy-saving information regarding insulation and air sealing. HVAC systems in commercial and industrial properties often make up 50% of your energy bill. Completing enhancements can help create a more reliable and more efficiently cooled or heated space for you and your employees. In addition to aiding staff productivity, this can improve overall profitability for your business as it lowers your energy costs.

4. Personalised Plan

An experienced electrician can identify likely desired and undesired consequences of a particular upgrade, and undertake calculations to quantify them. An energy auditor will also review past energy bills, equipment and the way the business operates. They’ll demonstrate where energy is being syphoned and how to rectify the situation.

Receiving a customised plan for your business will give you the most return on your investment, and is just one of the many benefits to this service. While some of the recommendations might have a substantial up-front cost, you should remember that many of them will pay for themselves in a short period of time with significantly reduced energy expenses.

5. Demonstrate Environmental Concern

Help reach employees and clients who are looking to work with an environmentally conscious business by demonstrating the measures you’re taking to lessen the impact you have on the environment. Energy audits are the most effective way to target areas of your business that need to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of natural resources.

6. Lengthen The Lifespan Of Equipment

An energy auditor might provide the recommendation that you update some of the facilities dated equipment for maximum energy savings. Upgrading will not only save on energy costs, but can also see the equipment lasting significantly longer than its predecessors. This is due to newer, more energy-efficient equipment not needing to work as hard as outdated units to provide the same level of performance.

7. Increased Property Value

Using the provided recommendations of an energy auditor to increase your facilities energy efficiency can also help to increase its overall net worth. Upgrades such as solar panels, high-efficiency LED lighting, and weatherisation procedures are all things that contribute to a higher property value, and can attract an array of tenants.

Some things at your facility waste more energy than others. Here are some of the most common issues a maintenance electrician might point out are:

If you have a formal assessment done by an accredited assessor, they should complete assessments to the applicable Australian Standards, such as AS/NZS 3598.1:2014 Energy Audits — Commercial Buildings.

We offer an audit service that will assess your electrical expenditure and identify potential opportunities to reduce energy and overheads. With over 30 years of experience servicing Melbourne and the surrounding suburbs, we tailor our plans to make sure that your business is compliant.

The team are reactive in their work and methodical in their thinking to create solutions instead of temporary fixes to electrical problems. Energy audits are a vital aspect of managing business to keep your costs and greenhouse emissions low.

By working with Teoma, you will have access to a national network of highly qualified, and experienced electricians that can provide you with all the services you would expect from a reliable contractor.

All team members have both a National Police Background and Working with Children Checks, as they are regularly engaged to work with local businesses, schools and city councils. With fully stocked vans ready, we don’t take risks – let us look after your electrical needs. Call us today to set up your electrical energy audit.