Establishing a Base Year

Many energy programs require the establishment of a "base year" or "pre retrofit year". Analysis of energy through utility bills enables us to develop a model of how each building reacts with the weather and other related sources, such as occupancy or manufacturing processes. Every building has its own model that will change only when the physical properties of the building change (such as a change to heating equipment, windows, insulation, etc.)

We can therefore use this model for comparison once an energy program has begun. This "base year" model is used to determine how much energy the building would have consumed by applying the current weather and other conditions. Once we have determined the energy the building would have used if the energy program had not been initiated, we can compare this to the actual energy used and estimate energy savings.

Energy Audit

REA can perform a preliminary energy audit of your building based on your utility bills. Before your energy program can be initiated, you need to see where your energy is going and how your buildings energy consumption varies with the weather.

A preliminary energy analysis will determine where your costs are going. Weather analysis can separate your costs into seasonal energy categories. Graphs like this one enable you to see where you should be targeting your energy program efforts.

For example, if your summer electrical costs are only 5% of the total utility costs, then any retrofits focused on cooling equipment will net a small savings only. If winter gas costs are over 70% of the total costs, then this would be a great area to concentrate your energy savings program.