How to Conduct a Business Energy Audit

Many businesses are increasingly emphasising energy efficiency, both to reduce their carbon emissions and to save on energy costs.

While there are many ways businesses can reduce the energy they use and make a real difference, a great place to start with energy saving is to conduct a detailed commercial energy audit. The audit will look at how your company currently uses energy and can highlight specific areas in which you can improve efficiency.

In this guide, we look at energy audits for different sizes and kinds of commercial organisations and share our business energy audit checklist to help you carry out your own.

What is a Business Energy Audit?

A business energy audit basically takes a look at all of the business premises and activities and assesses how electricity and gas (if applicable) are currently being used. The audit aims to identify areas in which there are opportunities to save energy, both to help lower bills and to make the company more sustainable.

The specifics of an energy audit will vary, depending on the type of business and its activities, but typically the areas that the audit covers can include:

• Heating and cooling

• Insulation

• Ventilation

• Lighting

• Equipment, including IT or any machinery or devices

• Behaviour of employees

Business energy audits can be conducted by a professional auditor who visits the site or over the phone, where the business representative answers the auditor’s questions about all of the areas covered. The most common solution, especially for micro-businesses and SMEs, is to conduct an internal audit, using your own resources to gather the necessary information about usage and energy efficiency.

It’s important to note that a business energy audit isn’t a one-off activity. While there are no rules about how often they should be carried out for SMEs, conducting an audit regularly can be the most effective way to help keep your company’s energy use on track.

Benefits of Business Energy Audits

Large Business Energy Audits

Large businesses can often benefit from a professional energy audit. Not only is it about saving money, but there may also be compliance requirements, such as the Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) for eligible companies. Large organisations must audit and report on energy use each year.

With a professional business energy audit, large businesses can not only get the necessary support with regulatory compliance, but they can also use the findings to help inform future business decisions around sustainability and set priorities and targets.

SME Business Energy Audits

Micro businesses and SMEs may not have those same regulatory requirements to meet in terms of reporting energy use, but there are still tangible benefits to conducting an energy audit. These include:

• Reducing the business’s long-term impact on the environment.

• Promoting sustainability, reducing waste and using greener solutions in the steps towards net-zero emissions.

• Significantly reducing energy bills to save money for the business.

Using a business energy audit to pinpoint how your business is currently using energy and where there are opportunities for improvement means you can build a great foundation for a more sustainable and cost-effective future.

SME Business Energy Audit Checklist

As SMEs and micro businesses are more likely to conduct their own internal energy audits, we have developed a checklist to help ensure that all of the main areas are adequately assessed. This will give you the information you need to make positive changes.

Heating, Cooling and Ventilation Energy Audit

Answering these questions will help you assess the energy your business is using and whether things can be improved:

• How old is the boiler or heating system?

• Is the heating system maintained and serviced annually?

• Is the heating switched on when the working area is not being used?

• Is there a thermostat fitted to regulate the workplace temperature?

• Are all radiators uncovered and able to distribute heat properly e.g. not blocked by furniture?

• Do individual radiators have adjustable valves?

• Do employees use any other means to heat their space at work e.g. electric heaters?

• Are windows being left open when the heating or cooling system is on?

• Is there an air conditioning, ventilation or extraction system in operation?

• When and how is the air con, ventilation or extraction system being used? Is it set on a timer?

• Is this system maintained/serviced regularly?

• Do employees use any desk or room fans to help stay cool at warmer times of the year?

Premises Insulation Audit

Doing a physical walkaround of the business premises (inside and out) is part of the audit process, but there may well also be some areas that aren’t easily accessible, such as loft spaces, basements etc. These should also be checked if you’ve never done an energy audit before so that you can answer questions such as:

• Is there insulation in the roof of the building to help limit heat loss?

• Is any exposed pipework or plumbing insulated?

• Are windows at least double-glazed?

• Are there draughts coming through any windows or doors in the building?

• If there are automatic doors, how quickly do they close?

• Are there loading doors or any other access points where doors are often left open for long periods?

• Are there any signs of dampness or water ingress anywhere in the building?

Business Lighting Energy Audit

• What type of light fittings or bulbs are being used? Are your lighting fixtures compatible with LED bulbs?

• Are lights being left on in some areas when not occupied, e.g. meeting rooms, toilets, hallways etc?

• Are manual light switches clearly visible and accessible?

• Are the windows regularly cleaned, inside and out, to let in as much natural light as possible?

• Are there areas that are used very intermittently where motion sensor-activated lighting could be installed?

Electrical Equipment Energy Audit

• Are all computers and non-essential office appliances or devices turned off outside of working hours?

• Is there older equipment that isn’t as energy-efficient as newer appliances? When is this due to be replaced?

• Are there fridges or cooling appliances being used on the premises? Are these regularly cleaned and well-maintained?

• Does the business use any industrial machinery or tools? How and when is this equipment used? Are there timers in operation, and does the equipment get unplugged at the end of working hours?

Employee Energy Behaviour Audit

• Do you include energy efficiency practices in new employee inductions?

• Is there guidance for existing employees on energy-saving practices at work?

• Do you ask employees for ideas on how to save energy in the workplace?

General Business Energy Information Audit

• Along with the walk around and making notes on the above considerations, to do an effective energy audit, businesses also need to factor in information such as:

• A record of the business’s previous energy use over a set period of time, preferably spanning at least 12 months. This can be found on recent energy bills. These figures are a benchmark for future reductions you can try to make.

• What business energy tariff are you currently using with your provider, and what are the unit rates?

Making a Business Energy Audit Action Plan

With lots of audit information gathered, the next step is to create an action plan for improvements that can be made to help reduce usage, increase efficiency and start saving money. This will look different for every business, depending on what the audit has highlighted and the specific activities that the company undertakes, but may include areas such as:

• Increasing building insulation to reduce heat loss.

• Installing a solar PV array and storage batteries to generate your own electricity for business use.

• Fix any draughty doors or windows to make heating and cooling more efficient.

• Move office furniture to improve radiator performance.

• Set timers and min/max temperatures for heating and cooling equipment.

• Changing all workplace lighting to LED bulbs to save energy.

• Installing motion sensor lighting in rooms used occasionally so they can’t be left on accidentally.

• Getting employees more involved in energy-saving practices at work.

• Upgrading inefficient equipment to save on future energy use.

• Seeing if switching energy providers can save the business money.

Save on Business Energy by Switching to a New Deal

As part of your energy audit, you’ll want to know if you can save money by switching to another commercial energy provider, especially if you are coming to the end of your current deal or are on a deemed tariff.

We can do this by comparing the best business energy deals and finding out how much you could save by switching. With the usage details you’ll already have from your audit or from checking recent bills, we can get you a range of quotes to help you make an informed choice.