If the term energy audit is foreign to you, this may be a good time to look into one. Energy audits are all about cost control and avoiding wasted energy expense. Surprisingly, monthly energy costs have more to do with your energy provider and their energy sources, rather than your locale and climate. Ontario has the highest electricity cost across all Canadian provinces and among the highest costs in North America. In 2016, large industrial consumers in Toronto and
Ottawa paid almost three times more than consumers in Montreal and Calgary. Source: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/rising-electricity-costs-and-declining-employment-in-ontarios-manufacturing-sector.pdf
Energy audits to identify waste can, of course, benefit high-volume energy users, but even small energy consumers may find the audit cost justified with monthly savings over time. A preliminary energy audit can establish goals, estimate cost savings, benchmark energy consumption and identify the easiest improvements and low-cost savings opportunities. Preliminary energy audits use existing internal or easily obtained external data. More comprehensive audits evaluate all major equipment, energy systems, and business processes, so they offer the most detailed cost-saving calculations and energy balance recommendations.
First, conducting a pre-audit is smart. This typically takes place with informal interviews with production, operations or facility managers. A brief meeting to raise awareness with all management personnel regarding the goals and process is often a good idea. If it is decided to move forward to the audit stage, this will likely require an energy consultant for first-hand monitoring, interviews with facility management and walk-throughs of the premises. Conducting trial experiments, producing process flow charts, gathering historical data analysis and energy consumption patterns are all part of this process. The post-audit stage should feature a report presentation to company management with action plans, implementation schedules, and expected energy consumption and cost savings. Like most corporate cost-reduction efforts, greater efficiency comes through careful analysis. Better energy management is no different.