Energy Auditing: The First Step

Before beginning any improvements or projects designed at increasing efficiencies, it is imperative to have a basis for comparison. An energy audit is the process of assessing current rates of consumption. Whether dealing with energy, water, or any other variable, having a baseline rate of use offers a way to quantify any subsequent changes. By dividing the amount of change from the base rate, by the original base rate, you are able to find the percentage increase or decrease in usage. This information will ultimately help in determining the return on investment of any project.

The best place to start an energy audit is by looking at the bills for the services you are assessing. You will be able to get the amount of usage per month, the total cost per month as well as the price per unit of use, which in the case of electricity would be kilowatt hour or kWh. 1 kWh is the equivalent of using 1000 watts of electricity for one hour. Duke Energy, for example, allows users to log onto their website to view past usage.

A great resource for tracking energy usage and comparing to other similar buildings is the EPA Energy Star website, www.energystar.gov. The site allows property managers or portfolio managers to track usage on a individual building or on a portfolio of many properties all in one place.

I have been working on getting energy usage data for 7 properties located throughout North Carolina. The portfolio includes retail, office, multi-family and mixed use properties. One of the major challenges is getting senior leadership behind the necessity and benefits of exploring more efficient operations and technologies. The advantages to becoming more energy efficient are clear, however we have all been conditioned to think that "green" necessarily means more expensive. It may require a little more effort up-front, but with research and proper expertise, you will find an abundance of "green" products that are competitive on cost with sustainable alternatives.

At the individual property level, getting the on-site staff behind the idea of creating more sustainable environments is extremely important. Without the support of the property managers, obtaining the information necessary to perform the energy audit can be a nightmare. Even with senior management pushing for participation from each property, major roadblocks and delays can be avoided by gaining the support of on-site staff upfront.

A successful strategy that we have used is round table discussions with each property, where the goals are presented and each staff is able to contribute ideas. Not only does the round table format produce some great property specific ideas to become more efficient, but it also gives the on-site management a sense of ownership during the audit and implementation processes.

Once baseline usage rates are established for each property and for the portfolio, you can begin evaluating the costs and benefits of projects aimed at increasing efficiencies.