Reduce energy usage and costs by up to 50% with an energy audit
Our Energy Audit includes:
A desktop anaylsis of your energy usage and costs.
Interval data analysis.
Billing and tariff analysis to identify options to reduce costs.
A site inspection.
Identify your electrical infrastructure: main switchboard, distribution boards etc.
Energy reconciliation.
Optional data logging to measure the energy usage and peak loads of your site and major equipment.
A comprehensive report outlining our findings.
This includes an itemised Energy Savings Action Plan with savings, costs and payback of all energy saving opportunities.
We are based in Sydney and operate across NSW and Canberra
Energy audit site visit
We come to your site and conduct a detailed inspection all common areas and centralised equipment. This includes:
Common area lighting (houselights), car parks, car park fans, other ventilation systems (e.g. bathroom and kitchen exhaust), fire stairs, centralised air conditioning systems (e.g. cooling towers, chillers), pools (heating and filtration), centralised hot water, and other equipment.
We also look at how electricity is distributed: main switchrooms and distribution boards.
And look at your roof to assess solar.
Who conducts the energy audit?
Our energy audits are conducted to the Australian Standard.
One of our qualified by engineers will conduct the audit. We experience working strata plans and commercial properties across Australia and New Zealand.
We don’t see or supply products, we give independent and unbiased advice.
The business case for an electricity audit
Common area electricity can cost up to $1,000 per unit. The good news is there are many options to reduce energy usage and costs.
Our audits typically costs less than 5% to 10% of energy costs.
Our audits typically identify options to reduce energy usage and costs by over 30%.
The energy efficiency market is flooded with suppliers trying to sell you their products. Don’t be fooled by their spin. And Don’t waste money on inferior products. Get expert independent advice and start saving.
Want more information?
For other services go to Energy Smart Strata
We provide a range of services such as:
Energy audits
Billing analysis and energy procurement
Solar feasibility studies
Water assessments
NABERS ratings
What’s included in our energy audits?
Our energy audits cover all major energy using equipment. A sample of what we can cover in an energy audit of your apartment building and strata complex includes:
Interval data analysis: we assess years of 30-minute interval electricity data to identify any changes in energy usage, and changes in the pattern of usage. This is particularly useful to investigate any increases in usage.
Energy reconciliation: we identify where energy is being used, and major consumers. We conduct an energy reconciliation (energy balance) to compare your billed usage, the the usage of your equipment. This can help identify is non-common ares equipment is being supplied by your common area meter.
Lighting: Options to replace lights with LED, or LED fittings with in-built motion sensors, or using motion sensors to control banks of lights (e.g. in car parks or lift lobbies).
Car park and fire stair lighting running all day and night is a waste of energy and costing you money. Great savings can be achieved by upgrading car park and fire stair lighting.Remember that car parking lighting over spaces, over passageways, emergency lighting and lighting and in fire stairs is not the same and different energy savings options apply for each.
Ventilation: ventilation fans running unecessarily are a common source of energy wastage in apartment buildings. We assess options to reduce fan run-times and make sure you are blowing money down the drain.
There may be options to install variable speed drives on fans, upgrade to hybrid fans.
Car park fans can be major energy users, each fan cab be 3kW to 20kW. For car parks we assess opportunities to use CO control sensors to control car park fans.
Pumps: we assess options to install variable speed drives, generating savings of up to 25% or replacing pumps near the end of their life with high efficiency motors.
Hot water: hot water usage can be a major energy user in residential apartment buildings, we assess the efficiency of your centralised hot water system and look a range of energy saving options such as solar systems, and upgrading old gas boilers to an electric heat pump hot water systems.
Swimming pools: Swimming pools are expensive to run and maintain, we assess options for solar heating, replacing electric systems with heat pumps, options to heat water on off peak rates to save money. We also investigate options to install manual or automatic pool covers (blankets) to reduce evaporative heat losses and liquid pool covers (for exterior pools).
Demand management and power factor correction (PFC): For large sites on a kVA demand tariff it is critical to assess options to reduce peak kVA demand by using power factor correction. These days small capacity units are available (<50kVAr) which are suitable for use in apartment buildings. This is important for apartment buildings which often have many inductive and reactive loads (fans, pumps etc…).
Solar power: we conduct a feasibility study of the opportunity to install solar power to supply common aeas, or both common areas and apartments.
Our energy audits include our bill and tariff analysis. This is a crucial part of any energy audit to identify simple options to reduce electricity costs. It includes:
Checking whether you are on a default rate, and if so what options are available to move onto a fixed term contract and achieve energy savings of 10% to 15%.
If you are on a fixed term contract assessing options to move retailers onto a cheaper tariff or negotiating a cheaper rate with your current electricity supplier.
Checking you are on the most appropriate and cost effective network tariff.
Assessing options to move from a general supply to a time of use tariff.
Checking whether you are appropriately on a residential or business account.
Our bill and tariff analysis has shown one client how to save 28% off electricity costs by simply moving onto the most cost effective billing and metering configuration.
We can also assess your embedded network to ensure it is providing cost savings.