By Emily Cunningham (Green Business Education Consultant)
An energy assessment, also known as an energy audit or energy survey, is the first step in making your business more energy efficient, or using the least amount of energy necessary to run the same functions in your business.
Why get an energy assessment?
- Save money for your business. If you want to be more energy efficient and save money for your business, the audit is an easy way to know exactly what changes you can make and how much you can save by making those changes. And the payout is immediate and long lasting!
- Streamline operations. With new energy efficient-certified equipment (like Energy Star) and LED (spell out what LED means) lighting, comes a better looking and bettering working business.
- Improve the environment and your community. With every energy conscious choice that you make, you are improving air quality, reducing energy use and preventing excess waste.
- Innovate with the help of rebates and incentives. Your city or energy auditor may offer rebates and incentives to help you make the recommended changes, allowing you to improve your business at a low cost!
Sound great? Let's take a closer look at what it entails—it may be easier than you think!
Follow our five steps and you will be well on your way to completing an energy assessment of your business!
- Set up an appointment with an energy auditor. An energy auditor is a professional who understands the ins and outs of energy use and can quickly assess your business. Call your utility company and find out which energy auditor they work with to take advantage of free or low cost audits.
- The energy use interview - tailored to your business needs: The assessment takes between 30 minutes and two hours, while your business is up and running. At the beginning of the assessment, tell your auditor about yourself and your business, including how much you want to spend on making energy-related changes. This allows the auditor to tailor the assessment to your needs, wants and habits.
- Let your auditor do his work, while you do yours. The auditor will then take a look at your business. He or she may examine things like lighting, gas, air conditioning units, equipment like refrigerators or ovens, water sources, and other sources of electricity.
- Review the report. Following the audit, you will receive a report that shows the types of upgrades you can make to improve your energy savings, projected costs of making energy changes, energy savings and estimated time of payback based on projected cost savings. Ask questions - the auditor is like your personal energy consultant.
- Decide what changes you would like to make. If you decide to follow through with some or all of the report's suggestions, many auditors will help you, both practically and financially, to implement energy saving measures and operational improvements. Accion can help too! We finance recommendations and credit cost savings to your income.
When it's all said and done, check out your next energy bill! You will notice a significant reduction in cost —on average between 10% and 30% —in your electric or gas bill immediately! Depending on the changes you made, you will see a return on investment over the long-term, sometimes as quickly as three months after making the change.
Click here to download our Energy Assessment tip sheet.