TCorp Inc.

It is difficult to know where to invest your energy conservation dollars without an energy audit.  Audits help to identify the efficiency of and approximate energy used by existing "End-Users" such as lighting, motors, boilers and air conditioners; they give you a snapshot of where you are today and establish a baseline against which recommendations and energy savings estimates are calculated.    

Level I – Preliminary Audit

Preliminary audits are often referred to as “walk-through” audits, because they involve simply walking through a facility, briefly interviewing facility personnel, quickly reviewing the facility’s utility bills and cataloging photographs of systems and equipment. The preliminary audit will usually identify major energy use problems and, because of its brevity, is not usually considered sufficient for making energy management investment decisions. These audits often identify no-cost/low cost operational practices that can substantially reduce energy usage. Preliminary audits allow prioritization of problem areas and determine whether a more detailed audit is necessary.

Level II – Scoping assessment

A level II energy audit, sometimes called a scoping audit, is a more thorough energy assessment. Detailed information about all energy using equipment is collected and documented and building occupants are interviewed to establish behavioral impacts on building operations.
Historical energy usage is collected and compared to what each energy end-user would typically consume based upon manufacturer's specifications and the estimated run times.  In some cases, such as manufacturing, energy use is separated into that which is used for day to day operations and what energy is expected to be used by production of product. 
Energy Conservation Measures (ECM’s) are then developed and evaluated for cost-effectiveness. ECM’s are listed in a prioritized format from lowest life-cycle cost (Best) to those measures that are least cost-effective. Life Cycle Costing normalizes investment opportunities and is a better financial decision tool than the “simple payback”. A report is produced that lists all recommendable energy conservation and management opportunities and is sufficiently detailed to be used to develop energy management conclusions and plan future project budgets.

Level III – Investment-Grade

Also known as an Investment Grade Audit, the Level III audit provides highly detailed information used to guide investment decisions. A Level III audit is based upon the information detailed in the Level II audit and is used to make detailed studies of major equipment changes or thermal improvements to the building. Often times, investors will require more rigorous financial projections than a scoping assessment normally provides. An Level III energy audit provides time-valued savings projections and the expected return on investment for an ECM's projected savings that is presented in intensive intended to instill confidence in the investor.

Note:

• Based on industry averages (from Department of Energy Statistics) an average building with 100,000 SF of space could save $8,500-$34,000 with low or no cost energy investments.
• For a 10,000 SF building savings could range between $850 – $3400 per year.
• TCorp analyzes life cycle investments and determines how long the investment will take to return its investment and then start saving you money. Click here to see a how TCorp has helped the Vermont Army National Guard’s  reduce its use.