Getting over the New Years’ hump means we can start on our long new list of goals to accomplish. Like every year, a common theme among the goal-making community is making a plan to save money. With cold weather and fresh budgets getting this new year started, now is the perfect time to start making headway on that goal by scheduling an energy audit for your facility.

An energy audit is by all intents and purposes an audit of your facility’s energy use. It’s the first step in making sure your facility is operating at an optimal level of efficiency. But efficiency isn’t measured only in energy output. First and foremost, the goal of an energy audit is to locate areas in your facility where there may be energy-saving opportunities. What comes with the identification of these opportunities is the potential for increasing asset values, worker safety and health and lowering operational costs.

Realistically, energy audits can be performed at any time of year but there are several reasons for winter being the best time. Here’s why:

• Winter allows auditors to perform a most thorough thermographic scan because of the greater temperature differences
• Budgets have started over and with an early year audit, a layout of energy usage can help bring operating costs down throughout the year
• A large portion of companies will put off energy audits until the warmer months arrive so an energy audit soon after the new year is easier to schedule

Once you’ve locked down your appointment, the auditor can go to work on whipping your facility into shape. They’ll take a comprehensive look at the amount of energy your facility expends in conjunction with the equipment and systems consuming it. The facility’s analysis will include cost and savings estimates along with suggestions for methods of energy reduction. By doing this they can provide a plan of action that is economically realistic, responsible and sustainable moving forward. 

Along with raw materials and personnel, energy costs are the largest part of a company’s budget. Without any of the three, there is no recipe for success. So if there is even the smallest piece of infrastructure that would benefit from an alteration of the way energy is spent, in the long run, it’s a win for the environment and another dollar that goes in the profit pot. Because as the adage goes, a penny saved is a penny earned.