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Watts Up Portable Watt Meter
Your Price: $142.95
The Watts Up Portable Watt Meter is easy to use and offers a faster, more efficient way to measure watts, watt-hours and time, with the added feature of displaying cumulative... More Info
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Extech Precision Digital Psychrometer
Your Price: $189.99
The Extech Precision Digital Psychrometer is equipped with a dual backlit display that simultaneously shows humidity, dew point and wet bulb temps. Noted for a fast response... More Info
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Retrotec Q46 Automated Blower Door Kit w/ Cloth Panel
Your Price: $3,295.00
This Retrotec Q46 automated blower door kit provides the perfect blend of hi-tech and ease of use; ideal for testing residential and commercial buildings and enclosures where... More Info
Professional Tools Needed for an Energy Audit
An accurate energy audit demands professional tools and reporting techniques. While the needs of each facility will determine the tools and processes that are necessary, there are a few basic items and ideas to consider. It is true that tools for an energy audit can be expensive. However, the money that you will save in wasted energy will quickly cover their cost.
Data loggers are useful for determining how much energy a system expels over time. Place them near motors, lights, compressors or any system you need to evaluate, and they will audit when the systems turn on and off. You can place them at the beginning of an audit and collect the data after a day or a couple of months. Data loggers are relatively inexpensive at roughly 100 dollars each.
Light meters are also reasonably priced tools that improve an energy audit. This tool helps determine whether the lights are brighter than the levels that are set by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. Pictures and video are also useful when conducting an energy audit. Pictures and video are undeniable proof that can support the energy audit readings.
There is one essential tool for anyone who consistently conducts energy audits on boilers: a combustion analyzer. Combustion analyzers are fairly simple to use. You place the probe in the boiler’s exhaust stack and use it to assess the characteristics in the gas. This information defines how effective the combustion is. In most cases, energy audits show you how it is possible to save energy with boilers. A number of facilities are without automatic combustion tuning equipment. Combustion controls can save one to three percent energy use and can pay for the tool within a year.
The tool that you need to perform an energy audit in a building with compressed air lines or steam pipes is an ultrasonic leak detector. These are able to detect leaks, even when there is noise in the background. Leak detectors are small and simple to use. You wear headphones and carry the detectors throughout the building while pointing them in different areas to pick up readings. Finding leaks and fixing them will quickly pay for the cost of the energy audit and leak detector.
When it is time to report the results of an energy audit, you need to present the information carefully. Support your findings with pictures and video, and give a brief summary on each item you discover. Write a single page executive summary. This summary should explain the benefits of fixing an energy problem instead describing the problem in great detail. Translate the information into dollars and cents so that the financial benefits are clear.
An energy audit is only effective if the necessary steps are taken to fix the problems that an auditor discovers. In order for energy saving ideas to be implemented, it is important that the report catch the attention of the reader. This involves detailed data collection and interpretation. You also need to present the information in a compelling manner. PowerPoint presentations or other visual cues are particularly effective at grabbing attention.