ENERGY AUDITING

INTRODUCTION
- An energy audit consist of a detailed examination of how a facility uses
energy, what the facility pays for the energy, and finally a recommended
program for changes in operating practices or energy consuming equipment
that will cost-effectively save on energy bills.
- Residential energy audits analyze the monthly bills, inspect the construction
of the dwelling unit, and inspect all the energy – consuming appliances in a
house or apartment. Ceilings and wall insulation is measured, ducts are
inspected, appliances such as heaters, air conditioners, water heaters,
refrigerators are examined and the lighting system are checked.
- Energy audit for industrial and commercial customers may be either be walk
through audits or complete detailed audits.
- In both audits they generally consider lighting, HVAC systems (heating,
ventilating and air conditioning equipment), water heating, insulations and
some motors.
- Large commercial and industrial customers may hire an engineering
consulting firm to perform a complete energy audit or set up an energy
management team whose job to conduct periodic audits and to keep up with
the available energy efficiency technology.

Basic Components of an energy audit

- The audit process starts by collecting information about a facility’s operation
and about its past record of utility bills.
- This data is then analyzed to get a picture of how the facility uses and
possibly wastes energy, as well as to help the auditor learn what areas to
examine to reduce energy costs.
- Specific changes are identified and evaluated to determine their benefits and
their cost effectiveness. These changes are called Energy conservation
opportunities (ECOs).
- These ECOs are assessed in terms of their costs and benefit and an economic
comparison is made to rank various ECOs.
- Finally, an action plan is created where certain ECOs are selected for
implementation, and the actual process of saving energy and saving money
begins.

Auditors Tool box

- To obtain the best information for a successful energy cost control program,
the auditors must make some measurement during the audit visit.
- The equipment needed depends on the type of energy-consuming equipment
used at the facility, and on the range of potential ECOs that might be
considered.

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Tools commonly needed for energy audit
Tape measures
A 25-foot length wide and 100-foot tape measure are used to check dimensions
of walls, ceilings, windows and distances between pieces of equipment for
purposes such as determining the length of pipe for transferring waste heat form
one piece of equipment to another.

Lightmeter
This used to measure illumination levels into facilities. A lightmeter that read
in footcandles allows direct analysis of lighting systems and comparison with
recommended light levels specified by the illuminating engineering society.
Many areas in buildings and plants are significantly over lighted, and measuring
this excess illumination then allows auditor to recommend a reduction in
lighting levels through lamp removal programs or by replacing inefficient lamps
with high efficiency lamps.

Thermometers
Several thermometers are generally needed to measure temperatures in offices
and other work areas, and to measure the temperature of operating equipment.
Knowing process temperatures allows the auditors to determine process
equipment efficiencies, and also to identify waste heat sources for potential heat
recovery programs.
Electronic thermometers with interchangeable probes are available. Some
common types include an immersion probe, a surface temperature probe and a
radiation shielded probe for measuring true air temperature.
Other types of infra-red thermometers and thermographic equipment are also
available. An infra-red “gun” is valuable for measuring temperature of steam
lines that are not readily reached without a ladder.

Infrared Cameras
Though expensive these are very versatile pieces of equipment and can be used
to find overheated electrical wires, connections, neutrals, circuits breakers,
transformers, motors and other pieces of electrical equipment.
They can be used to find wet insulation, missing insulation, roof leaks and cold
spots.
Infrared cameras are excellent tools for both safety related diagnostics and
energy saving diagnostics.

Voltmeter
A voltmeter is useful for determining operating voltages on electrical
equipment.
The most versatile instrument is a combined volt-ohm-ammeter with a clamp-
on feature for measuring currents in conductors that are easily accessible.

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This type of multimeter is convenient and relatively inexpensive.

Clamp on Ammeter
These are very useful instruments for measuring current in a wire without
having to make any live electrical connections.
The clamp is opened up and put around on insulated conductor, and the meter
reads the current in that conductor.

Wattmeter/Power factor meter

A portable hand-held wattmeter and power factor meter used to determine the
power consumption and power factor of individual motors and other inductive
devices.
This meter typically has a clamp-on feature which allows an easy connection to
the current carrying conductor, and has probes for voltage connection.

Combustion Analyzer
Combustion analyzers are portable devices capable of estimating the
combustion efficiency of furnaces, boilers, or other fossil fuel burning
machines.
There are two types of analyzers available i.e. digital combustion analyzer and
manual combustion analyzer.
Digital combustion analysis equipment performs the measurements and reads
out in percent combustion efficiency.
Manual combustion analysis kits require multiple measurements including
exhaust stack temperature, oxygen content, and carbon dioxide content. The
efficiency of the combustion processes can be calculated after determining these
parameters.
The manual process is lengthy and subject to human error.

Airflow Measurement Devices

These measure airflow from heating, air conditioning or ventilating ducts or
from other sources of air flow.
Airflow measurement devices can be used to identify problems with air flows,
such as whether the combustion air flow into a gas heater is correct.
Air flow measuring devices include a velometer, an anemometer, or an airflow
hood.

Blower door attachment

Building or structure tightness can be measured with a blower door attachment.
This device used in residences and in office buildings to determine the air
leakage rate or the number of air changes per hour in the facility.
This helps to determine whether the facility has substantial structural or duct
leaks that need to be located and sealed.

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Smoke Generator
- A simple smoke generator can also used in residences, offices and other
buildings to find air infiltration and leakage around doors, windows, duct
and other structural features.
- Care must be taken in using this device, since the chemical “Smoke”
produced may be hazardous and breathing protection masks may be needed.

Safety Equipment
- The use of safety equipment is a vital precaution for an energy auditor.
- These include safety glasses, hearing protectors, electrical insulated gloves,
asbestos gloves, breathing masks and safety shoes.

Miniature data loggers

- These are often devices that can be held in the palm of the hand, are
electronic instruments that record measurements of temperature, relative
humidity, light intensity, light on/off, and motor on/off.
- With external sensors they can record measurements of current, voltage,
apparent power (KVA), pressure and CO2.
- Collecting audit data with these small data loggers gives a more complete
and accurate picture of an energy system’s overall performance because
some conditions may change over long periods of time or when no one is
present as they can record data on a 24 hour day basis.

Preparing for the audit visit

- Some preliminary work must be done before the auditor makes the actual
energy audit visit to a facility.
- Data should be collected on the facility use of energy through examination of
utility bills, and some preliminary information should be compiled on the
physical description and operation of the facility.
- This data should then be analyzed so that the auditor can do the most
complete job of identifying ECOs during the actual site visit to the facility.

Energy Use Data

- The energy auditor should start by collecting data on energy use, power
demand and cost for at least the previous 12 months.
- Bills for gas, oil, coal, electricity etc should be compiled and examined to
determine both the amount of energy used and cost of that energy.
- This data should then be put into tabular and graphic form to see what kind
of patterns or problems appear from the tables or graphs.

Rate Structure
- To understand the cost of energy, the auditor must determine the rate
structure under which that energy is used is billed.

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- Energy rate structures may go from extremely simple ones e.g. $1.00 per
gallon of number 2 fuel oil, to very complex ones e.g. electricity
consumption which may have a customer charge, energy charge, demand
charge, power factor charge, and other miscellaneous charges that vary from
month to month.

Electrical Demand Charges

- The demand charge is based on a reading of the maximum power in kW that
a customer demands in a month.
- Power is rate at which energy is used and it varies quite rapidly for many
facilities. Electric utilities average the power reading over intervals from
fifteen minutes to one hour.
- Thus, a customer might be billed for demand for a month based on a
maximum value of a fifteen minute integrated average of their power use.

Ratchet clauses
- These are agreements between the facility and utility company
- Some utilities have a ratchet clause in their rate structure which stimulates
that the minimum power demand charge will be the highest demand
recorded in the last billing period or some percentage (i.e. typically 70%) of
the highest power demand recorded in the last year.
- The ratchet clause can increase utility charges for facilities during periods of
low activity.

Discounts/Penalties
- Utilities generally provide discounts on their energy and power rates for
customers who accept power at high voltage and provide transformers on
site.
- They also commonly assess penalties when a customer has a power factor
less than 0.9.

Physical and Operational data for the facility

- The auditor must gather information on factors likely to affect energy use in
the facility.
- Geographical location, weather data, facility layout and construction,
operating hours and equipment can all influence energy use.

Geographic location/weather data

- The geographic location of the facility should be noted together with weather
data for that location.
- This assists to obtain the average degree days for heating or cooling for that
location for the past twelve months.

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- This degree day data will be useful in analyzing the need for energy for
heating or cooling the facility.

Facility Layout
-This should be obtained and reviewed to determine the facility size, floor plan,
and construction features such as wall and roof material and insulation levels, as
well as door and window sizes and construction.

Operating hours
- Operating hours should be obtained and establish how many shifts are run in
the facility.
- Knowing the operating hours in advance allows some determination as to
whether some loads could be shifted to off-peak times.
- Adding a second shift can be cost effective from the energy cost view, since
the demand charge can then be spread over a greater amount of kWh.

Equipment List
- The auditor should get an equipment list for the facility and review it before
conducting the audit.
- All large pieces of energy-consuming equipment such as heaters, air
conditioners, water heaters, and specific process related should be identified.
- The largest energy and cost activities should be examined first to see what
savings could be achieved.

Conducting the audit visit

- Once the information on energy bills facility equipment and facility
operation has been obtained, the audit equipment can be gathered up, and the
actual visit to the facility can be made.
Introductory meeting
- The audit person or team should meet with the facility manager and
maintenance supervisor and briefly discuss the purpose of the audit and
indicate the kind of information that is to be obtained during the visit to the
facility.

Audit Interviews
- Getting the correct information on facility equipment and operation is
important if the audit is going to be most successful in identifying ways to
save money on energy bills.
- The auditor should interview the facility manager who should have access to
much of the operational data on the facility, and a file of data on facility
equipment.
- The auditor must also interview the floor supervisors and equipment
operators to understand the building and process problems. Line or area

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 supervisor usually have the best information on times their equipment is
used.
- The maintenance supervisor is often the primary person to talk to about types
of lighting and lamps, sizes of motors, sizes of air conditioners and space
heaters, and electrical loads of specialized process equipment.
- The maintenance staff must be interviewed to find the equipment and
performance problems.

Walk through tour

- A walk through tour of the facility should be conducted by the facility
manager, and should be arranged so the auditor or audit team can see the
major operational and equipment features of the facility.
- The main purpose of the walk through tour is to obtain general information.

Getting detailed data

- Following the facility tour, the auditor or audit team should acquire the
detailed data on facility equipment and operation that will lead to identifying
the significant ECOs that may be appropriate for the facility.
- This include data on lighting, HVAC equipment, motors, water specialized
equipment such as refrigerators, ovens, mixers, boilers etc.

Lighting
- Making a detailed inventory of all lighting is important.
- Data should be recorded on numbers of each type of light fixtures and lamps,
wattage of lamp, and hours of operation of groups of lights.
- Using a light meter the auditor should also record light intensity readings for
each area.
- Taking notes on types of tasks performed in area will help the auditor select
alternative lighting technologies that might be more energy efficient.

HVAC equipment
- All heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment should be
inventoried.
- Prepared data sheets can be used to record type, size, model, age, electrical
specifications or fuel use specifications and estimated hours of operation.
- The equipment should be inspected to determine the condition of the
evaporator and condenser coils, the air filters and the insulation on the
refrigerant lines.
- Air velocity measurement may also be made and recorded to assess
operating efficiencies or to discover conditioned air leaks.
- This data will allow later analysis to examine alternative equipment and
operations that would reduce energy costs for heating ventilating and air
conditioning.

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Electric motors
- An inventory of all electric motors should also be taken.
- Prepared data sheets can be used to record motor size, use, usage, model,
estimated hours of operation, other electrical characteristics and possibly the
operating power factor.
- Measurement of voltages, current and power factors may be appropriate for
some motors.
- Notes should be taken on use of motors, particularly recording those that are
infrequently used and might be candidates for peak load control or shifting
use to off-peak times.

Water heaters
- All water heaters should be examined and data recorded on their type, size,
age, model number electrical characteristics and fuel use.
- What the hot water is used for, how much is used, and what time it is used
should all be
noted.
- Temp of the hot water should be measured.

Waste Heat sources

- Most facilities have many sources of waste heat, providing possible
opportunities for waste heat recovery to be used as the substantial or total
source of needed hot water.
- Waste heat sources are air conditioners, air compressors, heaters and boilers,
process cooling systems, ovens, furnaces, cookers etc.
- Temperature measurements for these waste heat sources are necessary to
analyze them for replacing the operation of the existing water heaters.

Peak equipment loads

- The energy auditor should look for the electrically powered equipment that
are used frequently or whose use could be controlled and shifted to off-peak
times.
- Examples of these are drying ovens, certain types of welders, back-up
machine.
- Water heating could be done off-peak if a storage system is available.
- Electrical measurements of voltages, currents, and wattages may be helpful.
- Any information which leads to a piece of equipment being used off-peak is
valuable, and could result in substantial saving on electric power.

Other energy consuming equipment

- An inventory of all other equipment that consumes a substantial amount of
energy should be taken.

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- Commercial facilities may have extensive computer and copying equipment,
refrigeration and cooling equipment, cooking devices, printing equipment,
water heaters etc.
- Industrial facilities will have many highly specialized process and
production operations and machines.
- Data on types, sizes, capacities, fuel use, electrical characteristics, age and
operating hours should be recorded for all this equipment.