A Commercial Energy Audit Reveals Options For The Future
by Daniel Stouffer
Companies are facing a seemingly endless assault on their resources and stretched budgets. Nowhere is this more acute than in the energy management field and its associated costs. Faced with a double whammy of higher charges from the utility providers and existing and pending government legislation, organizations are turning to an ongoing and comprehensive commercial energy audit to prepare for the future.
As politicians pay more attention to global warming and climate control, so the need to decrease reliance on traditional fuels becomes more apparent. Current initiatives on the table in Washington DC include the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which recently passed through the House of Representatives by a small margin. This act, should it be passed into law, will require organizations to actively and successfully reduce their reliance on products and procedures that cause greenhouse gases to be emitted into the atmosphere. As companies keep a wary eye on this legislation, they are turning to commercial energy audit procedures.
Enterprise energy management programs and specialized software solutions are provided by leading organizations in this field. Such solutions offer companies that are reliant on fuel-heavy products, equipment and manufacturing processes ways to observe, track and modify their usage. Following a commercial energy audit, the software can help a company to achieve massive economies of scale within their operations, regardless of size or number of locations.
Companies are being prompted to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to increase their use of alternative fuel options. The ACES Act, currently passing through the United States Congress, proposes a sliding scale of conformity over time.
The United States government is proposing a cap and trade system to help companies adapt to new rules. By interacting with other companies a business may conform while still meeting its short to midterm requirements, by trading or buying unused energy. The business that sells an unused allocation would receive an additional financial benefit for being compliant.
Many small businesses cannot justify the employment of a full-time energy manager and turn to enterprise energy management programs and solutions. Company officials can reduce operating costs and meet increasingly stringent requirements through the use of these solutions. When part of a commercial energy audit, the software helps officials to understand and maintain their needs, provide complex feedback and comply with the reporting requirements.
A commercial energy audit can identify several options available to a company such as industry grants, loans, incentives, rebates and other funding, for the upgrade or installation of energy efficient equipment. Specialized software also helps the company to consolidate its carbon footprint.
As momentum gathers, recent and pending legislation is likely to be followed by increasingly onerous federal and state requirements. Companies will find a growing demand for more fuel-efficient equipment and processes and must analyze whether or not they can take advantage of alternative fuel source availability. Commercial energy audit activities will take on an increasing role in the company of tomorrow.
