Quick summary
- Problem: recommendations that cannot be checked against measurements or operating conditions.
- Approach: review the evidence, cost assumptions and plan for measuring the result.
- What you get: a checklist to identify questions for your auditor, not a certification or investment recommendation.
- Before you start: have the report, utility bills and available operating data to hand.
What a useful energy audit should explain
Agree the scope first. A useful report should make these points clear:
- Where energy is used: an end-use breakdown appropriate to the site, such as heating, hot water, lighting or production.
- What could improve: prioritised measures with estimated kWh and cost impact, assumptions and uncertainty.
- What happens next: implementation steps, owners and a measurement plan.
2) Gaps to discuss with your auditor
Limited evidence
- Only annual bills, without the detail needed for the agreed scope.
- Site conditions or operating schedules have not been checked.
- Generic measures without a site-specific assessment.
- Cost estimates without clear assumptions or sensitivity checks.
Evidence to look for
- Load profiles and an end-use breakdown where relevant.
- Site measurements suited to the audit scope.
- Estimated savings and costs with their assumptions stated.
- A follow-up plan agreed for the project, including a baseline and comparison conditions.
Report Review Checklist
Select the items you can find in your report. The result counts these four items only; it does not assess technical quality, legal compliance or actual savings.
What does the report include?
Hourly Load Profiles
Consumption data at a useful time resolution for the site.
Site Measurements
Relevant measured data, such as temperature, light levels or flow.
Costs and Payback
Investment and savings estimates with stated assumptions for each measure.
Verification Plan
A baseline and a plan to compare performance after changes.
Checklist status
No items selected
Select the items present in your report. This is not a score of audit quality.
3) Steps before commissioning or accepting an audit
- Define the purpose: savings, a refurbishment or a legal requirement? Agree scope and qualifications needed.
- Agree the data: ask which measurements are needed, for how long and how operating conditions will be recorded.
- Separate end uses: heating and cooling, lighting, and production processes, as relevant.
- Ask for assumptions: investment, estimated savings, tariffs and simple payback for each measure.
- Plan verification: compare with a baseline and adjust for relevant changes in weather, occupancy or production.
Illustrative example: a small hotel reviews its audit
A hotel wants to investigate high electricity use. The team checks meter data, equipment schedules and occupancy before choosing a measure. This is a hypothetical workflow, not a client result.
Question to test: is heating or cooling running in unoccupied areas, and do the meter data support that explanation?
Next step: test a control change where appropriate, record costs and compare like-for-like consumption. Savings remain an estimate until verified; no low-cost result is assumed.
A Review Plan, at Your Own Pace
First: Review
- Use the checklist to locate the four items in your report.
- Separate measured data from estimates and assumptions.
- List questions that could affect the decision.
Then: Resolve Gaps
- Request missing evidence or discuss further measurements.
- Compare measures by cost, expected savings, uncertainty and operational constraints.
- Choose indicators and a baseline suited to each measure.