What Is an Energy Audit? How Is It Carried Out and What Does It Offer Businesses?
An energy audit is a technical study that examines a facility's energy consumption and energy-using systems in order to assess its current energy performance, identify energy losses and reveal efficiency opportunities.
Carried out in settings ranging from industrial plants to commercial buildings, and from hospitals to public buildings, energy audits are based on consumption analyses, site surveys, technical measurements and engineering calculations.
Energy bills show total consumption and cost, but on their own they do not explain how efficiently energy is used in each system. High electricity consumption, for example, may result from production volume or operating hours, but it may equally result from inefficient equipment and technical losses.
By assessing these factors together, an energy audit establishes where, how and how efficiently energy is used. It thereby helps to reduce energy losses, improve operating costs and base investment decisions on reliable technical data.
Types of Energy Audit
Energy audits can be carried out at different scopes, depending on the purpose of the study and the level of detail required.
Preliminary Energy Audit: An initial study in which the facility's energy use is reviewed in general terms and evident losses and priority areas for improvement are identified.
Detailed Energy Audit: A study in which energy-using systems are examined comprehensively through on-site measurements and engineering calculations, and savings potential and investment alternatives are assessed in technical and economic terms.
Investment-Grade Energy Audit: Focuses on the improvement of a specific system or the evaluation of a planned investment. Feasible technical alternatives are compared in terms of expected energy savings, investment cost and economic return.
How Is an Energy Audit Carried Out?
Although it varies with the characteristics of the facility and the scope of the study, an energy audit is generally carried out in four stages.
1. Analysis of the Existing Situation
Consumption records for electricity, natural gas and other energy sources are reviewed together with the facility's operating conditions. The systems in which energy use is concentrated, and the priority areas for examination, are identified.
2. Site Surveys and Technical Measurements
Electrical systems, motors, pumps, compressed air systems, boilers, heating and cooling infrastructure and other significant energy users are examined on site, according to the scope of the study.
Where required, the actual operating conditions of the systems are assessed using energy analyzers, thermal cameras, flow meters, flue gas analyzers and other measuring instruments.
3. Engineering Analyses
Energy losses, equipment performance and improvement opportunities are identified from the measurement results and operational data. Feasible technical measures and the expected energy savings are calculated.
4. Economic Assessment and Reporting
The proposed measures are assessed in terms of investment cost, expected savings and payback period. The results are presented in a technical report that helps the business prioritize its energy efficiency investments.
Is an Energy Audit Mandatory?
In Türkiye, obligations relating to energy audits are governed by Energy Efficiency Law No. 5627 and the Regulation on Increasing Efficiency in the Use of Energy Resources and Energy issued under that Law.
Under the applicable legislation, businesses and buildings that meet certain size or energy consumption criteria are required to have energy audits carried out periodically.
Industrial Enterprises
Industrial enterprises with a total annual energy consumption of 1,000 TOE (tonnes of oil equivalent) or more are required to have an energy audit carried out every four years.
Commercial and Service Buildings
In commercial and service buildings with a total construction area exceeding 20,000 m² or a total annual energy consumption exceeding 500 TOE, an energy audit must be carried out every seven years.
Public Buildings
In public buildings with a total construction area of 10,000 m² or more, or a total annual energy consumption of 250 TOE or more, an energy audit must be carried out every seven years.
Mandatory energy audits under the legislation may be carried out by energy efficiency consultancy (EVD) companies authorized in the relevant field, or by the organization's own personnel who meet the conditions set out in the regulation and hold the relevant audit and project certificate.
The reports prepared as a result of energy audits, and the implementation plans for the measures identified, are submitted to the Ministry in accordance with the applicable legislation.
Energy audits are not, however, carried out solely to meet legal obligations. Businesses may also commission energy audits, at a scope suited to their needs, in order to reduce energy costs, assess the performance of their existing systems and plan efficiency investments soundly.