Loads running without a need.
Investigate idle machinery, out-of-hours HVAC, leaks and unsuitable control settings. Relate consumption to output and occupancy.
COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES
Understand the energy.
Prioritise the opportunity.
A structured assessment of how your facility uses energy—and a practical roadmap for what to improve, why it matters and how to verify the result.
FROM OPPORTUNITY TO VERIFIED VALUE
The audit is the starting point.
The implemented change creates the saving.
Prioritise avoidable consumption, reliability and operating constraints together. A generic 10–20% facility saving cannot be assumed before the scope and evidence are known.
Explore published benchmarks and your cost scenario ↗
ILLUSTRATIVE UTILITY SYSTEMSSTART WITH THE FACILITY
Find the questions
behind the consumption.
Energy bills show the total. An assessment investigates the operating schedules, systems and conditions behind it—connecting measured demand to the way the facility is used.
Recommendations may involve operating changes, maintenance, controls or equipment upgrades. The right intervention depends on the evidence and the site’s priorities.
ASSESS · ACT · VERIFY
From an unexplained bill.
To a verified improvement.
Follow six connected steps. Each stage turns a technical question into an output the facility team can use.
CONCEPT VISUAL / ENGINEERING WORKFLOW01 / MAP
Reconnect records with reality.
Review bills, production or occupancy patterns, available drawings and equipment. Reconcile missing information through a targeted site survey.
WHAT THIS STAGE PRODUCES
- Asset and measurement boundary
- Document gaps and critical loads
- Initial energy-use picture
WHY IT MATTERS
Start with the decision to be made, rather than collecting data without context.
01 / 06
Choose a chapter or start the guided journey.
Illustrative assessment workflow. Readings and diagrams explain the method; they are not measurements from a client facility.
A SCOPE THAT FITS YOUR SITE
Same discipline.
Different operating realities.
Relate consumption to production.
Review process demand alongside utilities, shift patterns and production output. Investigate significant loads in the context of what the plant needs to deliver.
- Electrical distribution and major process loads
- Compressed air, motors and pumping
- Cooling, thermal systems and operating schedules
THE COST OF ELECTRICAL STRESS
Small distortions.
Real consequences.
Power quality affects equipment heating, electrical losses and operating headroom. Explore two engineering examples.
Unequal supply voltages can create disproportionately unequal motor currents, increasing heat and mechanical stress.
Extra temperature rise (%) ≈ 2 × unbalance (%)²
ILLUSTRATIVE ENGINEERING EFFECT
+18%motor temperature rise
At an assumed balanced rise of 80°C, this example becomes 94.4°C above ambient. This is not an 18°C increase or an energy-saving estimate.
DOE approximation. NEMA line-voltage deviation method. Actual motor response varies.
US DOE motor systems guidance ↗Heat, distortion and lost headroom.
Investigate voltage and current quality separately. Assess protection, neutral loading, equipment limits and the cause before choosing mitigation.
A bill without an explanation.
Reconcile drawings, identify significant loads and establish a baseline. Power-factor correction or harmonic filtering must follow a site-specific study.
WHAT THE ASSESSMENT SHOULD LEAVE YOU WITH
A decision-ready roadmap.
Clear findings, explicit assumptions and a path from recommendation to verification.
The energy-use picture +
A structured view of significant energy uses, operating patterns, available measurements and any information gaps affecting the analysis.
A prioritised improvement register +
Opportunities described in terms of the observed issue, proposed action, implementation requirements, estimated benefit and dependencies.
An investment and verification plan +
Indicative costs and estimated savings with their assumptions, followed by a plan to verify the effect of agreed interventions. No savings percentage is assumed before assessment.
THE BASIS BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Evidence you can inspect.
Research reviewed 22 October 2026. These references explain the benchmarks and calculations; facility-specific recommendations require assessment.
Commissioning costs and savings — LBNL, 2020+
Existing-building commissioning: median primary-energy savings were 5% in utility programmes, 9% in monitoring-based utility programmes and 14% outside utility programmes. Median simple payback: 1.7 years.
North American commercial-building evidence, approximately 1,500 buildings in the expanded database. Different cohorts; figures are not additive or Voltanor results.
Read the original source ↗Proving the business case for building analytics — LBNL, 2020+
The campaign reported 3% median annual energy savings for energy information systems and 9% for fault detection and diagnostics; median simple payback was two years.
Commercial buildings; 104 participating organisations and 6,500 buildings overall. Savings require investigation and corrective action, not simply installing a dashboard.
Read the original source ↗Compressed-air efficiency reference guide — Natural Resources Canada+
Routine maintenance can save 10–20% of compressed-air energy costs. Measures include leak repair, pressure reduction and filter maintenance.
Compressed-air subsystem only. Guide benchmark, not a whole-facility saving. Actual effects depend on compressor controls and operating conditions.
Read the original source ↗Eliminate voltage unbalance — US DOE, 2012+
DOE estimates extra motor temperature rise as 2 × voltage-unbalance percentage squared. At 3% voltage unbalance, temperature rise is approximately 18% higher.
Motor thermal illustration, not 18°C or 18% energy savings. Voltage unbalance uses maximum line-voltage deviation / average voltage. Current imbalance is a different measurement.
Read the original source ↗Harmonics and increased losses — Schneider Electric, Electrical Installation Guide+
For fixed fundamental current and frequency-independent resistance, conductor Joule losses scale with 1 + THDi². At 30% current THD, the illustrative increase is 9%.
Conductor losses, not total facility consumption. Excludes skin effect and additional frequency-dependent equipment losses. THDi and voltage THD are different.
Read the original source ↗Building commissioning — LBNL, 2009 historical study+
The study reported 13% median whole-building energy savings for new-construction commissioning cases with available savings data.
Historical US commercial-building evidence, not a prediction for a new industrial plant. The 2020 update notes that new-construction energy savings are rarely estimated. Use project-specific models and verification.
Read the original source ↗Measurement and verification guidelines, version 5 — US DOE, 2024+
Define baseline conditions and an agreed measurement method before changes; compare post-intervention performance against an appropriately adjusted baseline.
Account for relevant changes in production, occupancy, weather, schedules and equipment. Separate operational savings from tariff effects.
Read the original source ↗Improving compressed-air system performance — US DOE sourcebook+
Leaks can waste 20–30% of a compressor’s output in poorly maintained systems.
Air output, not a universal percentage of the electricity bill. Find leaks, fix them and verify how compressor power responds.
Read the original source ↗Plant energy auditing — ENERGY STAR+
A plant assessment connects measured performance, improvement opportunities and implementation priorities.
An audit identifies opportunities. Savings arise from implemented measures and sustained operation.
Read the original source ↗CONTINUE THE FEEDBACK LOOP
An assessment sets the direction.
Monitoring keeps the picture current.
A defined assessment identifies and prioritises opportunities. Continuous monitoring adds the operating history needed to investigate change and follow performance over time.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR NEXT STEP
Where should you start?
Tell us about your facility and the energy question you want to answer.