Energy Audit Procedure from Borton-Lawson

1. Energy Audit Procedure
INTRO
In order to maximize the success of an energy audit, the end result needs to be a database of all energy-
consuming equipment, with sufficient information to grasp a big picture view of energy use, but also to
have sufficient detail to evaluate energy conservation opportunities. If sales and use tax exemption is
also an opportunity, then sufficient information needs to be gathered to render a certifiable
professional judgment of the actual energy consumed, and to separate that which goes directly into
manufacturing from that which goes to support functions (office, warehousing, etc.)
STEP 1
The larger and more complex a plant, the more challenging this will be. Our desire is to minimize the
amount of time required by plant personnel in this effort. To that end, the best way for us to start is to
get the following information:
1. 12 months of utility bills for each energy utility used in the plant (electricity, natural gas, etc.)
2. One-line diagrams, process flow diagrams or simple schematics of the following systems
a. Electrical
b. Fuels (natural gas, LP gas, fuel oil, coal, etc.)
c. Steam, hot water or other heating medium
d. Chilled water or other cooling medium
e. Compressed air
If system schematics or one-line diagrams are not available, we will need to be able to spend time with
someone sufficiently knowledgeable to walk us through each system to gain enough insight to create a
simple schematic, and to begin to make judgments about the connected loads.
STEP 2
Once we have the basic schematics in place, we need to drill down to gain sufficient information about
individual energy consuming equipment. Things that can help minimize the effort here are:
1. Maintenance databases
2. Spreadsheet lists of equipment
3. Building Automation System (BAS) screenshots & tabular printouts
4. Data from any existing sub-metering of power, steam, chilled water, etc.
STEP 3
With this list in hand, we need to learn enough about each piece of equipment to estimate its energy
use. Again, our goal is to minimize the effort required on the part of plant staff.
STEP 4
Annual energy usage is estimated for each piece of equipment and compared to the corresponding
utility consumption obtained from the energy bills. This document is created in spreadsheet form and
will provide the foundation for an overall strategic energy program that can include not only energy
conservation opportunities and greenhouse gas management programs, but also utility demand
response, grant & loan and tax exemption opportunities.