WHY ENERGY AUDIT IS IMPORTANT FOR INDUSTRIES AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OBTAINED FROM IT?
Increasingly in the last several decades, industrial energy audits have exploded as the demand to lower increasingly expensive energy costs and move towards a sustainable future have made energy audits greatly important. Their importance is magnified since energy spending is a major expense to industrial companies (energy spending accounts for ~ 20% of the average manufacturer’s expenses). This growing trend should only continue as energy costs continue to rise.Here are some benefits conducting audit-
- Energy audits will evaluate your facility “as a whole”, their goal is not to evaluate single measures but to consider a wide range of available alternatives (Electrical, Mechanical, Envelope and Water).
- The audit will not only inform you of opportunities but provide you with financial analysis. This will enable prioritization based on financial benefit and return on investment.
- Provide you with solid, easy to understand technical information regarding the proposed energy conservation measures.
- A good quality audit will analyze your historical energy use and find potential issues using statistical methods.
- Provide you with emissions analysis to help you understand the benefits of your decisions from an environmental standpoint.
- Understand where energy is used and which areas are worth focusing on the most (energy hogs).
- Provide you with benchmark information to help you understand your energy use performance compared to others in your field and area.
- The cost-benefit analysis of the audit report would help decision makers prioritize opportunities and evaluate them as investments. These indicators would include, rate of return, net present value, cash flow analysis and payback.