Chapter 2

The Energy Audit Process

 Energy Audit
 Energy Audit is the key to a systematic approach
for decision-making in the area of energy
management.
 It attempts to balance the total energy inputs
with its use, and serves to identify all the energy
streams in a facility.
• Energy conservation (EC) act 2001 defines
Energy audit as:
“The verification, monitoring and analysis of use of
energy including submission of technical report
containing recommendations for improving energy
efficiency with cost benefit analysis and an action
plan to reduce energy consumption".
Need for Energy Audit
In any industry, the three top operating expenses are
often found to be:
 Energy (both electrical and thermal)

 Labour and
materials
Energy emerge as a top ranker for cost saving
 The energy audit would give a positive orientation
to:
 energy cost reduction
 Preventive maintenance and quality control
programs which are vital for production and
utility activities.
 focus on variations which occur in the energy
costs,
 Availability and reliability of supply of energy,
 Decide on appropriate energy mix
 Identify energy conservation technologies
 The primary objective of energy audit is to
determine ways to reduce energy consumption per
unit of product output or to lower operating costs.
 The Role of an Energy Audit
 An energy audit identifies which areas in your
establishment unnecessarily consume too much
energy, where energy is being consumed and
assesses energy saving opportunities, which is the
most cost-effective to improve, so you get to save
money where it counts the most.
 In the factory, doing an energy audit increases
awareness of energy issues among plant personnel.
 An energy audit in effect gauges the energy
efficiency of your plant against “best practices”.
 When used as a “baseline” for tracking yearly
progress against targets, an energy audit becomes
the best first step towards saving money in the
production plant.
 Types of Energy Audit
The type of Energy Audit to be performed depends on:
•Function and type of industry
•Depth to which final audit is needed, and
•Potential and magnitude of cost reduction desired.
Thus energy audit can be classified as:
a) Preliminary (walk-through) audit and
b) Detailed audit

Preliminary or Walk-through audit

Walk-through or preliminary audit comprises one day or few

days visit to a plant and the output is a simple report based
on observation and historical data provided during the visit.
 The findings will be a general comment based on rule-of-
thumbs, energy best practices or the manufacturer's data.
 Preliminary energy audit is a relatively quick
exercise to:
 Establish energy consumption in the organization
 Estimate the scope for saving
 Identify the most likely (and the easiest
areas for attention
 Identify immediate (especially no-/low-cost)
improvements/ savings
 Set a 'reference point‘
 Identify areas for more detailed
study/measurement
 Preliminary energy audit uses existing, or
easily obtained data.
Detailed Energy Audit
 The detailed audit goes beyond quantitative
estimates of costs and savings. It includes
engineering recommendations and well-defined
project, giving due priorities.
Approximately 95% of all energy is accounted for
during the detailed audit. The detailed energy audit
is conducted after the preliminary energy audit.
Sophisticated instrumentation including flow meter,
flue gas analyzer, scanners and other advanced
instruments are used to compute energy efficiency.
 Overview of The Energy Audit Process
 Once a commercial or industrial facility has
designated its energy manager and given that
person the support and authority necessary to
develop adequate energy management program, the
first step the energy manager should take is to
conduct an energy audit.
 There are three phases of energy audit:
i. Preparing for the audit visit
ii.Performing the facility survey and
iii.Implementing the audit recommendation
Phase one :1. Preparing for energy audit
 the audit process starts with an examination of
the historical and descriptive data of the facility.
 Specific data to be gathered include:
 Energy bills for the past twelve months
 descriptive information about the facility
 List of equipments that significantly affect energy
consumption.
More over, before the audit begins, the auditor must
know what special measurement tools will be
needed. A briefing on safety procedures is also
advantageous.
1.1 Gathering preliminary data on the facility
 past energy bills, geographic location, weather
data, facility layout and construction, operating
hours, and equipment lists are all part of the data
needed.
1.2 Tools for the audit
 To obtain the best information for a successful
energy cost control program-the auditor must make
some measurements during the audit visit.
 The amount and equipment needed depends on the
type of energy consuming equipment used at the
facility, and on the range of potential EMOs that
might be considered.
Energy Audit Instruments
2.1.3 Safety Considerations
 The auditor and the audit team should have a basic
knowledge of safety equipment and procedures.
 Adequate safety equipment should be worn at all
appropriate times.
 Auditors should be extremely careful making any
measurements on electrical systems, or on high
temperature devices.
 The auditor should never approach a piece of
equipment and inspect it without notifying the
operator or supervisor first.
 If necessary the auditor may need to return when
the machine or device is idle in order to get the
data safely.
 Phase 2: Facility Inspection
 Once all of the basic data has been collected and
analyzed, the audit team should tour the entire
facility :
 To examine the operational patterns and
equipments usage and
 Should collect the detailed data on the facility
itself as well as on all energy using equipment.

The facility inspection systematically examines the

nine major systems within a facility using portable
instrumentation and common sense guided by an
anticipation of what can go wrong.
1) The building envelope
2) The boiler and steam distribution system
3) The heating , ventilating, and air-condition system
4) The Electric Supply system
5) The lighting System
6) The hot water distribution system
7) The compressed air distribution system
8) The motors and
9) The manufacturing system
 The facility inspection can often provide valuable
information on ways to reduce energy use at no
cost or at low cost. It is an important part of the
overall audit process.
2.1 Introductory meeting
 The audit leader should start the audit by
meeting with the facility manager and the
maintenance supervisor.
 He should briefly explain the purpose of the
audit and indicate the kind of information
the team needs to obtain during the facility
tour.
 If possible, a facility employee who is in a
position to authorize expenditures or make
operating policy decisions should be at this
initial meeting.
2.2 Audit Interviews
 Getting the correct information on facility
equipment and operation is important if the audit is
going to be most successful in identifying ways to
save money on energy bills.
 Line or area supervisors usually have the best
information on the times their equipment is used.
The maintenance supervisor is often the primary
person to talk to about types of lighting and lamps,
sizes of motors, sizes of air conditioners and space
heaters, and electrical loads of specialized process
equipment.
 Finally, the maintenance staff must be interviewed
to find the equipment and performance problems.
2.3 Initial Walk through tour
 An initial facility/plant tour should be
conducted by the facility/ plant manager, and
should allow the auditor or audit team to see
the major operational and equipment features
of the facility.
 The main purpose of the initial tour is to obtain
general information, and to obtain a general
understanding of the facility’s operation.
 More specific information should be obtained
from the maintenance and operational people
during a second, and more detailed data
collection tour.
2.4 Gathering Detailed Data
 Following the initial facility or plant tour, the
auditor or audit team should acquire the detailed
data on facility equipment and operation that will
lead to identifying the significant Energy
Management Opportunities (EMOs) that may be
appropriate for this facility.
 This data is gathered by examining the nine major
energy-using systems in the facility.
 As each of these systems are examined, the
following questions should be asked:
1. What function(s) does this system serve?
2. How does this system serve its function(s)?
3. What is the energy consumption of this system?
 4. What are the indications that this system is
probably working?
5. If this system is not working, how can it be
restored to good working condition?
6. How can the energy cost of this system be
reduced?
7. How should this system be maintained?
8.Who has direct responsibility for maintaining and
improving the operation and energy efficiency
of this system?
As each system is inspected, this data should be
recorded on individualized data sheets that have
been prepared in advance.
2.5 Preliminary Identification of Energy
Management Opportunities
 As the audit is being conducted, the auditor
should take notes on potential EMOs that are
evident. As a general rule, the greatest effort
should be devoted to analyzing and
implementing the EMOs which show the
greatest savings, and the least effort to those
with the smallest savings potential.
 Identifying any potential EMOs during the
walk-through will make it easier later on to
analyze the data and to determine the final
EMO recommendations.
2.6 The Energy Audit Report
 The next step in the energy audit process is to
prepare a report which details the final results of
the energy analyses and provides energy cost saving
recommendations.
 The report should begin with an executive summary
that provides the owners/managers of the audited
facility with a brief synopsis of the total savings
available and the highlights of each EMO.
 The report should then describe the facility that
has been audited, and provide information on the
operation of the facility that relates to its energy
costs.
 The energy bills should be presented, with tables
and plots showing the costs and consumption.
 Following the energy cost analysis, the
recommended EMOs should be presented, along
with the calculations for the costs and benefits,
and the cost-effectiveness criterion.
 Regardless of the audience for the audit report, it
should be written in a clear, concise and easy-to
understand format and style. An executive
summary should be tailored to non-technical
personnel, and technical jargon should be
minimized. The reader who understands the report
is more likely to implement the recommended
EMOs.
An outline for a complete energy audit report
2.7 The Energy Action Plan
 An important part of the energy audit report is the
recommended action plan for the facility.
 Similar to a Total Quality Management program where a
company seeks to continually improve the quality of its
products, services and operation, an energy cost control
program seeks continual improvement in the amount of
product produced for a given expenditure for energy.
 The energy action plan lists the EMOs which should be
implemented first, and suggests an overall
implementation schedule.
 In addition, the action plan also suggests that a
company designate one person as the energy monitor or
energy manager for the facility if it has not already
done so.
Phase 3 : Implementing the Audit
Recommendations
 After the energy consumption data
has been collected and analyzed, the
energy-related systems have been
carefully examined, the ideas for
improvement have been collected,
and management commitment has
been obtained, the next steps are
to obtain company support for the
program, to choose goals, and to
initiate action.