Published 15 Aug 2023
What is an Energy Audit?
An energy audit inspects a building or home’s energy usage to help identify the factors that drive up energy consumption. Information gathered through the inspection is used as a basis for presented recommendations to cut down energy costs. An energy audit involves a thorough walkthrough inspection by a certified energy auditor who will provide a report of their findings and recommendations to improve energy efficiency.
In this article
- What to Check When Performing an Energy Audit
- SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) as a Digital Energy Audit Checklist
- Paperless Energy Audits for Maximum Efficiency
- 5 Benefits of Using the SafetyCulture Energy Audit Software
- Top Energy Audit Checklist Templates
What to Check When Performing an Energy Audit
A successful energy audit must evaluate all of the contributing factors to a building’s energy consumption. An accurate energy audit report is important in keeping energy consumption in check and prolonging the lifespan of electrical equipment. Here are the Top 3 things to check when performing an energy audit:
- Equipment/Appliances
- Lighting – Lighting systems are present in all buildings and it is important that they are used efficiently to maximize energy savings. Check the wattage, usage, and location of internal and external lighting systems. Replace traditional incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient options such as halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Review the daily usage of lighting systems and check if they can be switched off to take advantage of daylight. Check if automatic lighting controls can be installed for spaces that are intermittently occupied such as store rooms, kitchens, and toilets to ensure that lights are turned off when not in use.
- Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) – Similar to lighting systems, HVAC systems affect the entire building space and its proper use can help cut down energy expenses. Check if an automatic thermostat is installed and working. This can be programmed to adjust the temperature for different times of the day and maximize efficiency. Inspect air filters and advise if they need cleaning. Recommend a cleaning schedule for air filters as dust and debris buildup forces air conditioners to work harder to maintain air flow, driving up your utility expenses.
- Electrical appliances – This refers to office appliances including computers and printers, and household appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, and water heating systems. Check if computers and monitors are energy efficient based on their model and Energy Star rating. Review water heater energy factor (EF) to determine efficiency and check if a replacement can help reduce energy expenses. Check if fridge seals are in good condition, the temperature is in the appropriate setting, and coils are kept clean for maximum energy efficiency.
- Building/home design
Good design reduces power consumption and helps lower energy expenses. Check the insulation on walls, floors, and ceilings to ensure that the heat or cold generated by the HVAC system isn’t wasted. Inspect gaps around doors, windows, and vents including openings between the interior and the exterior of the building to see if they are draft-proof. If possible, recommend that solar panels be installed as the main source of energy to save more long term. - Energy consumption habits
The cheapest way to reduce energy expenses is to develop good energy consumption habits. Check if:- computers and other appliances are kept running when not in use
- lights can be turned off in the daytime to take advantage of natural light
- thermostat is set up or down by only 8 degrees based on the outside temperature
SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) as a Digital Energy Audit Checklist
Paperless Energy Audits for Maximum Efficiency
An energy audit software is used as a formal assessment of a residential or commercial establishment’s energy consumption habits. Energy audits are performed by either an in-house energy auditor or a contractor. The purpose of an energy audit is to identify if resources are being used economically to avoid excessive and unnecessary charges. Through diligent energy auditing, homeowners, landlords, and business operators can maximize their energy savings for better financial management. With the SafetyCulture Energy Audit Software, energy auditors can ditch paper checklists for intuitive digital smart forms that make inspections more efficient and automatically generate professional reports upon audit completion to share with clients and stakeholders for better visibility and faster action.
Less paperwork, better workflow with an Energy Audit Software
No need to manually compile and organize energy audit reports. SafetyCulture gives you an easy-to-use digital platform so you spend less time sorting data and more time collecting them. Go paperless and see your energy audit efficiency skyrocket.
Keep all of your data in one place
Paper records can get lost, damaged, or worse, accessed by unauthorized personnel. SafetyCulture automatically stores your audit data via secure cloud technology so only authorized personnel can access whatever information they need, whenever they need it.
See the big picture through powerful analytics
Aside from securing your data, you can filter them by location, time and date, department, employees, templates, and more; there is no need to manually search through every single document to find the information you need. More importantly, SafetyCulture analyzes your data to provide you with actionable insights you can use to improve your energy auditing process.
5 Benefits of Using the SafetyCulture Energy Audit Software
Performing an effective energy audit is essential to both residential and commercial establishments that are looking to make the most out of their respective investments. Homeowners, landlords, and managers owe it to themselves to optimize their resource utility for maximum return.
Using the SafetyCulture Energy Management Software helps professional energy auditors focus on getting the right data while minimizing the time and effort spent on menial tasks such as data compilation and writing audit reports.
Here are 5 benefits professional energy auditors can gain by using SafetyCulture:
- Perform energy audits anytime, anywhere, even while offline. SafetyCulture’s energy audit software allows you to perform energy audits and inspections on your mobile device even if you are not connected to the internet. Once your device goes online, the inspection data is automatically saved and secured via unlimited cloud storage.
- Download ready-to-use energy audit templates for free. With over 100,000 templates currently in our public library, you can download energy audit templates for residential, commercial, and general establishments for free. You can use our pre-made energy audit templates or you can download templates shared by energy audit professionals all around the globe.
- Convert your paper forms or easily create your own smart templates via a drag-and-drop template builder. Use smart scan to convert your existing paper, PDF, Word, or Excel form into a SafetyCulture form in seconds. You can also create your own energy audit templates from scratch through our user-friendly, drag-and-drop template builder. Choose from a variety of audit responses such as yes/no, multiple choice, checkboxes, notes, and more to ensure that you collect the right data. In addition, you can apply smart fields to your digital forms so only necessary questions show up based on your audit responses.
- Safeguard energy audit accountability. SafetyCulture records audit dates and total audit duration so you know which audits were completed on time and which ones were missed. You can also track assigned audits and corrective actions to view their status and record digital signatures to ensure audit accountability.
- Automatically generate professional energy audit reports for sharing. No need to manually compile your collected energy audit data to write a comprehensive report. Upon audit completion, SafetyCulture lets you generate professional reports that you can readily share with clients and stakeholders. You can also set up auto-share so reports are automatically sent to the right people whenever an audit is completed.
Optimize Energy Expenditure With the SafetyCulture Energy Audit Software
SafetyCulture’s Energy Audit Software is an affordable and sustainable solution that helps prevent excess energy expenditure. Perform energy audits consistently with the help of a versatile mobile solution and maximize your financial assets by creating energy-efficient habits with SafetyCulture.
To help you get started, here are 3 of the energy audit checklists you can download, use, and customize for free.
Top Energy Audit Checklist Templates
Office Energy Audit Checklist
An office energy audit checklist is used to assess the energy efficiency of a workspace based on equipment, appliances, design, and usage. Certified energy auditors can use this checklist to identify opportunities for energy cost reduction and recommend solutions.
General Energy Audit Checklist
A general energy audit checklist is used to assess the energy efficiency of an establishment based on equipment, appliances, design, and usage. Certified energy auditors can use this checklist to identify opportunities for energy cost reduction and recommend solutions.
Audit Checklist for the Energy Industry
This general energy audit checklist can be used by businesses, organizations, and the energy industry itself to ensure that they are implementing good energy conservation practices. With this, users are empowered to proactively identify any gaps in the process, address them, and correct any areas for improvement. Additionally, this checklist is downloadable and fully customizable according to a business’s specific needs.
