Installing solar can be an effective way to reduce electricity costs. However, solar should not always be the first step.
Before generating more electricity, it is important to understand how electricity is currently being consumed and whether some of that consumption can be reduced through better efficiency.
This is where an energy audit becomes valuable.
The smartest energy investment may begin with understanding your consumption.
An energy audit helps identify where energy is being used, where it may be wasted, and which improvements can deliver the greatest value.
What Is an Energy Audit?
An energy audit is a structured assessment of how a facility consumes electricity and other forms of energy.
The objective is to understand consumption patterns, identify inefficiencies, and determine practical opportunities for reducing energy costs and improving system performance.
Review Electricity Consumption
Electricity bills and historical consumption data can reveal important trends in how much energy a facility uses.
Identify Major Energy Loads
Large equipment, HVAC systems, pumps, water heating, refrigeration, lighting and other loads can contribute significantly to energy consumption.
Identify Energy Waste
Inefficient equipment, unnecessary operating hours, poor controls and other factors can increase electricity consumption without adding corresponding value.
Establish an Energy Baseline
A baseline provides a reference point for measuring the impact of future energy efficiency and solar investments.
Why Should an Audit Come Before Solar?
Solar systems are normally designed to offset a portion of your electricity consumption. If the underlying consumption pattern is not properly understood, the solar system may not be optimally sized.
An energy audit can therefore help answer an important question: should the facility first reduce its energy demand before investing in additional generation capacity?
Efficiency First. Generation Second.
Reducing unnecessary consumption can lower your energy bill before solar is even installed. The remaining demand can then be used to develop a more informed solar system design.
Understanding Your Load Profile
One of the most important parts of energy planning is understanding when electricity is being consumed.
Two businesses may have similar monthly electricity bills but completely different operating patterns. One may consume most of its electricity during daylight hours, while another may have significant demand at night.
These differences can significantly influence solar sizing, battery requirements, and the expected financial performance of the system.
What Can an Energy Audit Reveal?
Energy Efficiency Opportunities
Identify equipment and processes where efficiency improvements could reduce energy consumption.
Solar Sizing Information
Develop a clearer understanding of the energy demand that solar generation should help offset.
Battery Requirements
Determine whether energy storage may be useful and what role it should play in the overall system.
Investment Priorities
Compare different opportunities and focus investment on measures that can provide meaningful operational value.
Building a Better Solar Investment Case
An energy audit provides useful information for determining how a solar system should be designed and what level of energy savings may realistically be expected.
Instead of simply asking how many solar panels can fit on a roof, the focus becomes how much energy the facility actually needs, when it needs it, and how solar, batteries and efficiency improvements can work together.
Start With Understanding. Then Engineer the Solution.
At Amperage Energy, we believe good energy engineering starts with understanding the customer's operation.
We look at electricity consumption, operating patterns, major loads, critical requirements and future needs before recommending the appropriate solution.
This allows us to build energy systems around the facility rather than forcing the facility to fit a standard system.
Not sure where your energy costs are coming from?
Start with an energy assessment.
Let our team review your energy profile and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and determine whether solar is the right next step.
Start My Energy Assessment