Commercial Energy Audits: What They Miss and What Works
What a commercial energy audit actually covers
A building energy audit assesses how well your building uses energy. It identifies inefficiencies and recommends commercial energy conservation strategies that may lead to long-term cost savings.
Audits are conducted by experienced professionals or engineers. They review key equipment, such as HVAC systems, lighting, and insulation, and compare their current performance with desired performance levels. Systems that fall short of expectations may require repairs or replacement.
Commercial energy audits follow the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards. They're categorized by levels, with each type differing in scope and depth.
ASHRAE Level 1 Energy Audit: During the evaluation, professionals perform a basic walk-through assessment to identify obvious problems. They review operational data such as utility bills and interview maintenance staff. Final audit reports may contain recommendations for energy efficient equipment upgrades. A Level 1 Audit works well for building owners seeking quick energy savings or a plan for energy improvements.
ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audit: The ASHRAE Level 2 Audit provides an in-depth financial analysis of suggested energy efficiency projects and equipment. Reports may outline cost and energy savings over the long term. They may also suggest ways to conserve energy through operational or maintenance policies. Owners may opt for a Level 2 audit if they're planning to implement major equipment upgrades.
ASHRAE Level 3 Energy Audit: A Level 3 audit uses extensive data collection to demonstrate how improvements in energy efficiency can result in cost and energy savings. It's commonly used for major capital improvements in large facilities, particularly when investors or lenders desire precise financial assessments of a project.
Lower-level audits may take several days or weeks to complete, while a Level 3 audit can stretch on for months due to its complexity.
Why buildings get audited (and what's at stake)
Owners may opt for a commercial energy audit to reduce their overall operating expenses. Results from the evaluation can illustrate effective ways to minimize heating, cooling, and electricity costs, leading to less energy waste. Savings on utilities may boost the owner's net operating income from the property.
Some cities or states require buildings to meet specific emissions or ESG benchmarks. A professional audit details a property's current energy performance, which owners can share with regulatory authorities.
Owners seeking to apply for special tax incentives or utility rebates may request a commercial building energy audit as part of the qualification process.
The cost of a commercial energy audit varies by audit type and the square footage of your building. Lower-level audits are cheapest, while a Level 3 audit may exceed $50,000.
The gaps a periodic audit can't fill
Energy audits for commercial buildings have value, but they won't show you the full picture of your property's equipment. That's because audits examine your property at a single point in time, rather than continuously.
Issues that can cause energy efficiency variance over time include:
Equipment degradation: Systems may break or slowly degrade over time, leading to reduced efficiency.
Seasonal inefficiencies: Air conditioning systems may work great during the winter, when they're rarely used. But during the warmer months, strain from cooling may lead to greater energy waste.
Occupancy pattern shifts: Higher or lower occupancy rates can significantly alter energy usage.
Incremental load creep: Faulty meters may record higher energy consumption when there is no actual change.
Audits won't catch these variances because of their inherent structural limitations. But continuous monitoring can.
How continuous monitoring picks up where audits leave off
Real-time energy management solutions capture building data using specialized internet of things (IoT) sensors. These sensors are placed on or near critical building components, such as HVAC equipment, plumbing systems, lighting circuits, and energy meters. Data from the sensors is transferred to a dedicated platform that building managers can view.
IoT supports building energy efficiency by alerting teams to energy waste when it occurs. Managers use the insights to determine whether maintenance is required. Data also helps them assess whether previous energy improvements are continuing to deliver results.
To demonstrate how continuous monitoring stands up against a Level 2 audit, consider this scenario. You have a sensor monitoring your building's HVAC system. It records a 30% drop in airflow over the course of two weeks. Something's clearly wrong, so you ask your maintenance team to assess and fix it immediately.
Now assume that you lack a continuous monitoring system, but you've scheduled a Level 2 audit. The engineering team performs an evaluation and flags the HVAC system as an energy efficiency opportunity. However, the breakdown occurred months earlier. Had you caught the issue at its onset, you could have prevented further degradation of the equipment and excess utility costs.
Getting more from your energy program over time
Energy monitoring for commercial buildings doesn't replace audits. Instead, the tools complement one another. Audits help owners benchmark energy usage and identify capital improvement opportunities. Continuous monitoring verifies that energy usage stays within expected boundaries and identifies issues that crop up between audits. Mature building operations teams rely on both tools for a comprehensive energy management approach.
Attune is a market leader in IoT with over 45 patents. Our building monitoring and intelligence platform delivers reliable insights about your property's asset health and energy usage. Schedule a demo to learn how Attune can support your commercial building portfolio.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three levels of commercial energy audits?
A Level 1 audit includes a basic walk-through and evaluation of your building to suggest energy improvements. Level 2 and 3 audits provide an in-depth analysis of energy usage and financial projections of potential cost savings from capital improvements.
How much does a commercial energy audit cost?
Professionals base the cost on the audit level and square footage of a property. Basic audits may cost several thousand dollars, while a more extensive audit can exceed six figures.
How often should a commercial building get an energy audit?
Undergoing a building energy audit every three to five years optimizes system performance. However, some cities may require more frequent audits for regulatory purposes.
