Energy Audit

Lockatong Engineering’s Energy Audit services identify and develop specific energy conservation opportunities (ECOs) for your building(s) that will reduce energy consumption and your operating costs.

A building’s energy consumption is the result of an interaction of all building systems, including the building envelope, heating/ventilating/air conditioning (HVAC), domestic water heating, lighting, conveying equipment and process loads. Lockatong Engineering inspects and evaluates all of these systems.

Our Energy Audit report provides you with actionable information, including a prioritized list of ECOs, estimates of implementation costs and projected savings estimates so you can take control of your future energy expenditures.

Why have an Energy Audit performed?

Energy consumption is a major component of the cost of owning and operating any building. For investment real estate, it can affect marketing potential of your property and your overall rate of return. For owner-occupied facilities, it can constrain your allocation of capital and reduce your bottom line. For community associations, it can improve comfort while reducing operating costs of clubhouses and significantly reducing operating fees for high-rise buildings.

An Energy Audit “benchmarks” your facility’s overall rate of consumption against other buildings of similar function, size and geographic location. This allows you to establish an achievable target for energy consumption reduction and your potential savings.

For example, Energy Star-rated buildings have an energy performance equal to or superior to 75 percent of similar properties located throughout the country. But any application for Energy Star certification must be verified by a licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect to be eligible for approval. We can help you achieve this classification.

In addition to realized energy savings, federal, state of New Jersey, utility companies and local governments offer incentives for reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. We can help you to identify appropriate options and work with you to secure funding and rebates.

What is the Energy Audit Process?

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers — ASHRAE — has established a procedure for conducting a commercial building energy audit. This procedure includes the preliminary energy analysis for establishing a benchmark for consumption, as discussed above. Actual utility billing records are reviewed to determine baseline consumption. Then, depending on your circumstances, three defined levels of Energy Audit services are available.

A Level One Audit includes a walk-through survey of your facility with the objective of identifying no- and low-cost ECOs that we anticipate will give you the biggest bang for the buck — in other words, whose savings will cover your outlay in a very short or negligible payback period. A Level One Audit includes a written report discussing ECOs that might require moderate capital investments and a preliminary judgment of the suitability of these options.

A Level Two Audit builds upon a Level One Audit with additional engineering analysis of all practical ECOs and the rationale for disregarding any ECOs deemed to be impractical. This level may also include testing and data logging of various systems to better estimate potential savings and to provide a breakdown of the various energy consumption components within the building.

Finally, a Level Three Audit includes additional evaluation and computer simulation in order to develop ECOs that would require more substantial capital investment. The Level Three Audit report of findings provides data to corroborate projections and support applications to secure funding or to make major investment decisions.

Generally, a Level Two Energy Audit is appropriate for most facilities. However, the needs of each particular client and the complexities of each individual building or facility are the factors that dictate which audit we recommend. Specific design work for recommendations is quoted separately, if the client is interested.

PCA / PH1 / Energy Audit Brochure

Links

www.energystar.gov

www.dsireusa.org

www.ashrae.org