So I have an Energy Audit. Now What Do I Do?

A good first step is to translate the highlights of the audit report—a technical document—into non-technical terms that will resonate with non-technical business leaders. The report’s simple list of recommendations should be evolved into a business plan for action. Your energy audit report probably says nothing about which department in your organization should pay for improvements, which department will book the savings, or if your staff or an outside contractor is best able to do the work. The report says nothing about the disruption that such work might cause. How will you prioritize projects? How will you measure the financial impacts of each? These are the questions that an energy business plan should answer.
So here’s the take-away message about an energy audit: Don’t look at it only as a cost. If you do, you can certainly save money by not securing the audit in the first place. Rejecting the audit opportunity is a very high risk strategy, because each dollar saved by avoiding an energy audit can cost many more dollars in energy waste. Understand that an audit is only the first step. Energy costs are controlled by actually pursuing the opportunities that an energy audit recommends.