Auditing is a valuable skill set to enable the identification of how electricity, gas and water is used within buildings and to allow the identification of opportunities to reduce use in a sustainable manner. This session focuses on some basic auditing techniques that can be used in most buildings and processes for electricity, gas and water use and offer attendees practical examples for review and control techniques that they can apply.

1. Energy Managers Association
Practical Auditing

2. Site Auditing
• Before a site visit, find out as much as you can such as
operational hours and basic processes
• Try to undertake some basic analysis of consumptions
• This could be from half hourly data, on-line portals or just bills
• This can indicate general patterns of consumption and trends,
such as overnight loads
• This data may be available over extended periods giving
consumption patterns over time
• Initial analysis can give some ideas of areas to focus on and
relevant questions to ask, even if you don’t know the site

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EnergydemandkW
Time of day
Average daily electricity consumption profiles
Average Monday
consumption
Average Tuesday
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consumption
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consumption
Min consumption
seen

8. Simple auditing techniques
Equipment
• What processes and equipment are in the building?
• What is its general operation related to the buildings use?
• Are there any control systems and staff awareness of how
things work?
• Is equipment left on permanently (e.g. boilers and lighting)
© EMA

10. Simple auditing techniques
Equipment
• What processes and equipment are in the building?
• What is its general operation related to the buildings use?
• Are there any control systems and staff awareness of how
things work?
• Is equipment left on permanently (e.g. boilers and lighting)
• Look at general equipment age and efficiency (e.g. older, low
efficiency boilers, motors, lighting, high water use white goods,
showers, toilets and taps)
• Is it financially viable to replace them?
© EMA

11. Simple auditing techniques
Control systems
• How is equipment controlled (time, level, pressure, flow etc.)
• When does it run (day, night, weekends, holidays etc.)?
• What still operates outside operational hours?
• How is it supposed to be controlled (simple on/off control, full speed
or100% output, variable speed systems, modulated control etc.)?
• How is it actually controlled?
© EMA

13. Simple auditing techniques
Control systems
• How is equipment controlled (time, level, pressure, flow etc.)
• When does it run (day, night, weekends, holidays etc.)?
• What still operates outside operational hours?
• How is it supposed to be controlled (simple on/off control, full speed
or100% output, variable speed systems, modulated control etc.)?
• How is it actually controlled?
• How good is the existing control? If a BMS is in use, is it optimised?
© EMA

14. y = 556.85x + 864.94
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DailygasdemandkWh
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Daily gas against production analysis
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Temperature
AHU temperatures
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extract air
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17. Simple auditing techniques
Control systems
• How is equipment controlled (time, level, pressure, flow etc.)
• When does it run (day, night, weekends, holidays etc.)?
• What still operates outside operational hours?
• How is it supposed to run (simple on/off control, full speed or100%
output, variable speed systems, modulated control etc.)?
• How does it actually run?
• How good is the existing control?
• Is there a better way to control (slow it down, control on occupancy,
light levels, differential pressure, CO2 levels, tank levels etc.)?
• How easy is it to change the control system and can it be automated?
• Is it likely to be financially viable?
© EMA

18. Simple auditing techniques
People
• What is the effect of people on the building?
• Is there an awareness of utility use?
• Is there a general switch off regime in the building e.g. last one
out, lighting off when rooms not in use etc?
• Do people use savings devices when they are installed (e.g.
swimming pool covers)
• Can/will staff take the message on board or do you have to
automate systems?
© EMA

19. Summary
• Get a picture of a buildings general operation before you audit
• Try to do some basic analysis
• Understand the equipment found in a building
• Understand how equipment is supposed to be controlled and
is it being controlled that way
• Is there a better way to control equipment?
• Is behaviour change required, can people contribute more or
do systems need to be automated?
© EMA

20. Thank you
MarkTaylor
Taylor Made Energy Solutions Ltd
Mark.taylor@tmenergysolutions.com
07785 313179