Don’t All Auditors Produce the Same Quality Work?

Sadly, no they do not, nor do energy auditors have the same degree of proficiency at their craft.  And what is worse is that most commercial energy audit customers may not be able to tell qualified energy auditors from novices.  Energy auditing is a profession, like lawyering.  Not all lawyers can produce the same results–the same applies to energy auditors.

The quality of your energy audit report really matters.  A poorly done audit can result in you:

• Wasting thousands of dollars in installing the wrong energy conservation measures.  Most facilities have a limited budget for energy efficiency.  It is best to use that budget on the best energy conservation measures.  Poorly done audits often miss these.
• Wasting thousands of dollars installing energy conservation measures that won’t save money, or that will save much less than the audit would lead you to believe.
• Wasting thousands of dollars in wasted energy from not knowing about no-cost/low-cost measures that could have saved you money.  These measures often are related to HVAC control, and inexperienced auditors often miss these.

There are more ways a poorly done audit can lead you astray, and these are addressed in detail in our whitepaper Eight Ways in Which a Poor Quality Energy Audit Can Prove Costly to the Building Owner.

If you plan on acting on the recommendations presented in the energy audit report, then be wise when you choose an auditor.  Be sure to pick an auditor who:

• is vendor neutral
• is solution neutral (i.e. who won’t be pushing a performance contract or service on you)
• has experience.  Be sure to look at resumes, and descriptions of past projects.

For more information on picking the right energy auditor, see our whitepaper How to Avoid Energy Audit Disasters.

Remember, bad advice is worse than no advice.