THE GOAL: Identify potential opportunities for a building to save money while improving its systems and becoming more energy efficient. Audits specifically examine a property’s equipment and the overall condition of the building. RCx’s focus on how these existing systems run in conjunction with environmental, property type, and occupancy factors. While not all cities require Audits and RCx’s, Energy experts recommend conducting one every 3-years or if there has been an increase in energy consumption greater than 10%. It is also important to consider the age of your building’s equipment. The older the equipment gets, the less likely it will be able to perform at optimal levels to match a building’s needs.
FUN FACT: THE FIRST WEDNESDAY IN OCTOBER IS NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY (EE) DAY!
LEARN MORE: Request a free 1-on-1 webinar and get an overview of new audit/RCx requirements, review upcoming deadlines, and focus on exemptions specific to your building(s). To register, go to https://www.EBEWEordinance.com/learnIn the last newsletter, we discussed that Energy Benchmarks are the first step in Energy management by assessing potential areas of improvement. Energy Audits and RCx’s take that potential and narrows it down to what can or should be done. Though it can be a daunting and costly project to take on, the benefits are worth it in the long run. Through Audits and RCx’s, you will see:
• An improvement in comfort, health, and safety for your occupants
• A longer life expectancy for building equipment
• Reduced costs on maintenance and operation
• Energy savings on utility bills in as little as 3-years
• Potential increase in real estate value
Where energy is wasted, safety problems. health hazards, and comfort issues often exist ... Where we find energy efficiency, we also tend to find lower operating costs and greater real estate value."
WHAT TO EXPECT: Once you have hired an Audit team, they will conduct a preliminary assessment of the property – concerns, goals, needs, etc. Next, data will be gathered via on-site visit(s) to your property. Your consultant will then draft up a report detailing what was found and what the next recommend steps are.