In order to truly understand how your house performs you will want to hire a company who's sole business is performing building evaluations. This way you will assure that your goals and objectives are taken into consideration. They will perform an unbiased review of your homes performance and make recommendations that align with your homes performance and your goals.
Many electric companies offer free audits. It is common thought that these companies do not have the best interest of the home/building owner in mind - since it is there business to sell electricity. We have found that the information they provide is good, however it is very general and could likely be determined in one of their simple on-line surveys. In addition, these audits and the rebates the utilities provide are not actually "free", you have been paying for them in your bills for years. They have built in charges to accommodate for these services so you may as well take advantage of them, just use the info in your planning phase and if you are really looking to improve the energy efficiency of your home - hire a professional auditor/evaluator.
Another type of free audit is offered by companies with an alternate sales motive - such as selling insulation, radiant barrier or energy efficient products. It is not that these products may not be beneficial, it's that (depending on the contractor) you may find that they always conclude that you need what they sell.
I think it is very important to know how to do energy audits. If you are a building owner or have a large commercial building, energy audits will surely help you save money. Energy audits help you identify energy waste and help you figure out how to fix them. You will be able to manage and control your costs better if you know your building's energy usage. You will also be able to figure out if you will be able to meet your energy targets by identifying problems with your building and the equipment inside it.
A home energy audit is for homeowners who would like to qualify for government grants and rebates. You may be eligible to save upwards of $7000. Audits are also a good way to save money on your electricity bill.
An inspection or energy audit is designed to assess various aspects of a property, in order to save the customer money on energy bills of households. The efficiency of appliances, mechanical systems, and the envelope of the structure and orientation of the house are evaluated to design the best plan for creating a more energy efficient home.
audits are....................
The three main types of audits are financial audits, operational audits, and compliance audits. Financial audits focus on financial statements and records to ensure accuracy and compliance with regulations. Operational audits assess efficiency and effectiveness of processes and procedures. Compliance audits verify adherence to laws and regulations.
KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, is their independent auditor.
Independent social audits
Ernst & Young audits Amazon.
Audits of governmental agencies are typically both financial and compliance audits.
Energy Audits can be broken down in several ways. The first is by the type of facility or building:residential (home)commercialand industrial.The second way to categorize audits is by how involved they are. In our case we do heavy commercial and industrial audits, and here are how we categorize our audits:Preliminary Audit: compare your energy use to similar companies.Comprehensive walk through audit: in depth look at your energy bills, your equipment, and your process. This identifies and quantifies energy savings ideas.DIY walk through audit: same as a comprehensive audit, but instead of having the auditor do the leg work, you (or an employee) gather data. You get 70% of the results for less than half the price.These are the most complex - and expensive - studies. They are most often used by major corporations with intensive project approval processes, or by companies looking to implement major (and expensive) technologies. These include wind, solar PV (photo-voltaic), hot water heating, solar heating (passive & active), CHP (Combined Heat Power), CHCP (Combined Heat Cool Power), refrigeration (mechanical & absorption), heat pumps, HVAC, high efficiency electric motors, biomass, and small hydro-electric....In our experience, 95% of companies are better served by a self-walk-through audit. The recommendations are almost as accurate, and their much lower cost makes it easier to justify the investment.
Tarik Al-Shemmeri has written: 'Energy audits' -- subject(s): Energy conservation, Energy auditing, Buildings, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Engineering (General), Handbooks, manuals
The main things that might bring up IRS audits are large charitable donations, claiming rental losses, or claiming the home office deduction. However, there is no way to be sure to avoid an IRS audit.