As energy prices continue to go up, bottom lines are going down. Utility costs are quickly becoming one of the more significant overhead expenses for companies throughout the United States – and they’re projected to continue to increase as the costs of natural gas continue to rise. With that being said, firms have a few options at their disposal to keep costs in check. One thing they can do is conduct an energy audit.
An energy audit is a process that carefully assesses a firm’s energy usage and operation schedule by examining bills and other documents. From here, rate analysis and reviews are conducted to make sure there are no errors and to identify if a better rate can be achieved. An auditor will then work with utility companies to correct any billing errors and optimize energy usage to get the best possible price.
Energy audits are different from energy assessments in that they analyze and assess bills and usage. Energy assessments, conversely, determine where a firm could benefit in energy savings by identifying inefficiencies throughout a property and where improvements can be made. In this post, we’ll discuss more about energy audits and the benefits that can be achieved when you have one conducted on your property. Here’s a closer look at what you need to know:
Benefits of an Energy Audit
There are plenty of benefits associated with energy audits, the biggest being the cost savings that can be realized after the audit has been completed. Some commercial properties have realized a cost savings of up to 30 percent after completing the likes of energy audits and utility rate analysis, as well as upgrading equipment, systems, and building materials for enhanced energy efficiency. Like we said in the opening, the biggest benefit is the cost savings and what these savings can do for your firm’s bottom line. While many property managers may be put off by the upfront cost that’s associated with an energy audit, it’s one of those things that can pay for itself over time if you identify significant enough savings.
There are various other benefits associated with energy audits as well. These benefits include:
- Having a better understanding of when you’re using the most energy and ways that you can conserve energy better during peak times.
- Energy audits can help identify any billing errors while ensuring that you remain compliant with your utility bills.
- Audits can also open the door for extensive negotiations with utility companies to help property managers get the best possible rates for their businesses.
Why an Energy Audit is Necessary
What’s nice about many energy auditors is that they don’t get paid if they can’t save you money. It helps to answer the question posed in the header of why an energy audit is necessary. When a firm is working on a contingency basis, why not give it a try? There’s literally nothing to lose.
But the biggest reasons why an energy audit is necessary have nothing to do with what your firm could potentially be paying an auditor and everything to do with the benefits that we listed in the previous section. You can decrease overhead costs and improve your bottom line. You can get a better overall understanding of your firm’s energy usage and when it’s using the most energy. And you can open the door for negotiations to occur with utility companies so you can ensure you’re getting the best possible rate on your energy input and saving the most money possible.
Green Line Rates Energy Audit
When you work with a professional, qualified energy auditor, you can rest assured that your firm is in good hands. Here’s a look at the process that Green Line Energy takes when you work with us for an energy audit:
- Kick-off meeting: We’ll begin the process with an initial kick-off meeting so that we can learn about your business, your facility, and your goals. This initial meeting – which can be held over the phone, virtually, or in person – will help us learn more about your firm so that we can help you better.
- Gather utility bills from the past: Next, we’ll want to analyze some of your recent utility bills. This helps us to better project the potential savings we’ll be able to achieve by looking for compliance, billing errors, areas where we can negotiate, and brainstorming other cost-saving strategies. This step is basically an extension of the initial kick-off meeting where we take things a few steps deeper and really start to dig in on where we can generate savings.
- Savings report: Once we’ve audited your utility bills, we’ll put together a detailed report that identifies the opportunities we’ve found to help save your firm money. With your approval, we’ll begin the process of making these savings a reality based on the savings report.
After we go to work for you, you can sit back and watch your utility bills decrease. However, we do suggest having an energy audit performed about once every three years or so, if for nothing else but to check up on things and make sure that you’re still being billed appropriately. That’s something that we can help you with at Green Line Rates as well.
Contact Us Today
For more information on the importance of energy audits and the potential cost savings your firm may be able to realize, contact us at Green Line Rates today. Remember, we don’t make any money unless we’re able to save you money – so you really have nothing to lose by letting us take a crack at it. Contact us today for more information and to schedule your initial energy audit consultation.