Unveiling the Potential: Energy Audits in Australia

Unveiling the Potential: Energy Audits in Australia and their Sector-Specific Advantages

An increasing number of organisations are implementing environmental policies as public climate consciousness rises. Coupled with record-high energy rates, many organisations actively seek to improve their energy efficiency across all sectors.

Enter the Energy Audit, an integral first step to identifying key areas for improvement based on an organisation’s requirements. An Energy Audit entails a comprehensive analysis of a facility’s energy consumption, designed to identify areas for improvement and unlock cost savings otherwise unlikely to be realised.

What exactly is an energy audit, and why should I get one done?

At its core, an Energy Audit involves a systematic evaluation of energy use, conducted by qualified audit professionals to an Australian standard. 

An Energy Audit can clarify your company’s energy consumption and identify areas for potential savings, as well as lead to reduced energy use, improved productivity and opportunities to innovate.

There are two primary services people often interchange when discussing Energy Audits – ‘energy assessment’ and ‘energy audit’. However, they are quite different.  

An Energy Assessment is quite high level, and is primarily focused on finding the “low-hanging fruit” relating to energy efficiency opportunities within a facility. An Energy Audit is a comprehensive analysis of site energy use and is conducted following Australian Standards. The differences are outlined below.

• Energy Assessment: An energy assessment is a basic process where ‘quick wins’ are identified to reduce your energy consumption based on the findings of a site visit. The Return on Investment (ROI) of each Energy Upgrade is estimated based on high-level values and industry averages. 

• Energy Audit: A comprehensive analysis of your site’s current energy-consuming equipment and measurements to quantify energy use and potential savings. Aligned to AS NZS 3598.1 & AS NZS 3598.2 and broken into 3 primary categories:
  • Type 1 – Basic
  • Type 2 – Industry Standard
  • Type 3 – Complex and highly detailed

Typical Energy Audits include comprehensive analysis and reporting of a sites’ energy usage such as: 

• Detailed Tariff Analysis 
• Time of Use (ToU) Analysis 
• Energy Usage Breakdowns (EUBs) of all main energy-using equipment 
• Energy Efficiency Opportunities, categorised by a payback period of less than 2 years or greater than 2 years
• Detailed Asset Registry

Ecovantage also has the knowledge and expertise to outline any opportunities for Federal and state-based white certificate rebates available with each Energy Efficiency Opportunity identified and recommended. This ensures the payback period is minimised as much as possible, and the recommendations are action-oriented.

The Benefits Beyond Numbers

The advantages of Energy Audits extend beyond immediate cost savings. They provide valuable data that supports:

• Informed decision-making: Audits equip organisations with insights to make informed investment decisions about energy upgrades and process modifications.
• Continuous improvement: Regular audits create a tangible measurement of site progress while informing ongoing efforts.

Take advantage of new Grants to conduct your Energy Audits.

Round 2 of Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Enterprises open from 22 February 2024, offering up to $25,000 for SMEs to implement energy efficiency upgrades and Energy Audits. They are open to organisations with less than 199 employees who didn’t participate in round 1 and have been operating for more than 24 months. 

Much like the first round of grants, we anticipate an overwhelming number of applications as soon as it opens, so we encourage all interested parties to get in touch with us immediately to start the application process. 

Get in touch with us today – we are here to help make the grant application and Energy Audit as seamless as possible, including writing and submitting the grant application on your behalf.