Energy Audit
An energy audit is a structured review of how a site uses energy, identifying where it is consumed and wasted and quantifying the savings from specific measures. It produces a prioritised list of efficiency opportunities with costs and paybacks.
An energy audit typically combines metering data, a walk-round survey (often with thermography) and analysis to map energy use to areas and assets, then ranks improvement measures by saving and payback. It is the practical starting point for an efficiency or decarbonization programme, and in some jurisdictions large companies are legally required to carry one out periodically. Its findings feed directly into an energy management system.
Related terms
Energy Management System (EnMS / EMS) · ISO 50001 · Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) · Thermography (Infrared Inspection) · Heat Loss
Related guides
Factory decarbonization: a practical roadmap
A sequenced, no-regrets roadmap for cutting industrial emissions — efficiency first, then electrification and fuel switching, then the hard residual.
Industrial heat loss and insulation
Why bare hot surfaces are a bigger loss than most plants realise, how to estimate it, and why valves and flanges are the usual culprits.
Software
Where this applies
Implementing an ISO 50001 energy management system · Running an energy treasure-hunt event · Global investment in energy efficiency · Industry's share of global CO2 emissions · EU enterprise birth and death rates · EU enterprise birth rates by country · Where the EU's final energy is used · Which EU industries use the most energy