A business energy audit is one of the ways in which companies can do their bit. And it’s also a great move for plenty of other reasons, like financial savings. So, even businesses that aren’t required to perform an energy audit are smart to do so anyway.
This post will take you through the specifics of a business energy audit and how it can benefit your business as well as the environment.
Broadly speaking, a business energy audit is an assessment of your organisation’s energy consumption. It can take various forms, but one of the most common is part of the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).
Regulated by the environment agency, large organisations must assess their energy usage every 4 years and find new ways to reduce their carbon footprint. If you’re wondering whether you need an energy audit because of ESOS, ask yourself two questions:
Answering yes to either of these questions means that you are expected to produce a detailed report on your business’s energy output. Any eligible business that doesn’t comply with the regulations could be saddled with a hefty fine, ranging from £5,000 to £90,000.
Of course, all businesses are different, and an energy audit for a small business will be very different from one for a company taking in tens of millions. But here are some common areas of operation that a business audit usually considers.
Of course, a business energy audit will want to examine whether your equipment consumes more energy than it ought to - or more energy than an efficient model would. That’s the same whether you’re a business based in an office or one that uses larger equipment.
Details about your work site’s facilities are another major factor. Do you use energy-efficient lightbulbs? Are the heating and cooling systems efficient? Could insulation be improved? These are the kinds of questions an energy audit might explore.
Human behaviour also can have a significant effect on energy usage. For example, do your workers prop open doors in wintertime to welcome customers in? Do they leave lights or computers on after hours?
Naturally, when it comes to energy, the type of energy you’re using matters. If you’ve got energy coming in from sustainable sources like solar panels, that’s definitely a plus. And if you don’t, maybe your audit would show that adding solar panels could be a good move for you.
A typical energy audit follows a clear sequence, regardless of whether it's carried out for ESOS or purely to cut costs.
It usually starts with a review of existing data: recent utility bills, meter readings and consumption patterns across the site, giving assessors a baseline before they ever visit in person.
Next comes the site inspection covered above, where an assessor checks how equipment, lighting, heating and building fabric perform against that baseline, and asks staff about day-to-day habits that don't show up in the numbers. This is often where the biggest surprises turn up. A boiler running longer than scheduled, or ventilation left operating in an empty unit overnight, rarely appears on a utility bill.
The findings are then analysed to identify where the largest savings opportunities lie, before being written up into a report. A good report doesn't just list problems. It prioritises recommendations by projected savings, implementation cost and payback period, so a business can see which changes are worth acting on first.
For a single-site commercial premises, the process from data review to final report typically takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. It depends how complex the site is and how many systems need inspecting.
Businesses outside ESOS scope aren't tied to a four-year cycle, but repeating an audit every two to three years (or after any significant change to equipment, floor space or working patterns) is usually enough to catch new savings opportunities before they go unnoticed for too long.
Not every business needs the same depth of audit.
A walkthrough audit is the lightest option: a relatively quick site visit and review of utility data that flags obvious inefficiencies and quick wins, without detailed financial modelling. It suits businesses that haven't had an audit before and want a starting point.
A detailed audit goes further, combining diagnostic testing, such as thermal imaging, with financial analysis of each recommendation, giving a clearer picture of likely returns. This is usually the right level for most UK commercial premises, striking a balance between cost and actionable insight.
An investment-grade audit is the most rigorous option, typically reserved for businesses planning major capital works, such as a full lighting retrofit or a new heating system. It includes detailed vendor quotes and lifecycle costings robust enough to support a funding application or board sign-off. Choosing the right level upfront avoids paying for more detail than a business actually needs, or too little to act on with confidence.
Whichever level is right for a given business, the findings are only as reliable as the assessor carrying them out. A walkthrough conducted by an unqualified person can miss faults that a trained eye or diagnostic equipment would catch, and any remedial electrical work the audit identifies should always be carried out by a qualified electrician rather than attempted in-house.
Though an energy audit is a requirement for some businesses, that doesn’t mean it’s just red tape. Business energy audits can make a real difference for your business’s finances and its reputation, whether you’re required to undertake an audit or not.
What are exactly the perks of having an energy audit? Well, it can allow you to …
The purpose of a business energy audit is pretty simple – to assess energy efficiency and how it can be improved. Once you know how much energy you’re wasting, your business can easily become more efficient and sustainable. That all adds up to reducing your carbon footprint, which is good for the planet.
Having an energy audit is a great way to highlight the areas that could be financially draining to your business. As energy-saving measures are identified and reduced, costs can easily fall as well. You could find that your business was losing money through energy wastage in ways you didn’t even notice. That alone gives you a very good reason for your next energy audit!
Your brand is highly important when it comes to generating sales, attracting new customers and keeping them. Consumers appreciate companies with authentic brand values. Being considerate of your carbon emissions and caring for the environment is a value they will want to support. And your business’s responsibility and attention to detail speaks well of it, too.
If your business is eligible for the business energy audit, then it’s essential that you comply with the regulations. A key component of ESOS, you could be fined £50,000 plus £500 for each working day you violate. Reduced penalties are given out for new entrants at £5,000. Either way, no one wants to be forking out a penny more than they have to due to non-compliance. So, it’s in your best interests to stay on the right side of the rules.
A business energy audit can give you new insight into your business operations and help you to understand its workings in a way that you didn’t before. A surge of energy usage at certain times of year could tell you something about your business’s work patterns, for example. And you may not have realized that equipment you’re using is becoming outdated or worn out - but an energy audit could flag that it’s now inefficient and needs to be replaced or refreshed.
In the same way that a business energy audit shows your business’s good character to customers, it also casts you in a positive light for investors and partner organisations. Stakeholders who want to be involved with your company like to hear that you’re compliant with the law, attuned to your business’s operations and smart when it comes to using resources and spending money.
Take the stress out of auditing by getting a professional assessment team to do it for you. Volta Compliance will take you through the ESOS process, creating a strategy to implement beneficial changes. Our expert team has 20+ years of experience in carrying out specialised reports that will make sure you stay compliant and minimise costs!
If you’d like to know more or to book your business energy audit, simply contact Volta Compliance on 0113 436 0402 or request a quote online.
