You know you want to lower your business energy bills and make a move to greener solutions. You know you’d like to make efficiencies in the way your business runs, to reduce both costs and carbon emissions. You know contracting a professional business energy audit is the only viable way to identify a fully comprehensive range of savings.
What you don’t know yet is how much an energy audit costs.
At Renew & Sustain, we hate wasted energy in all its forms. If you’re thinking of commissioning an energy audit but aren’t sure about costs, we’ve saved some time and effort by compiling the answers right here.
Of course, as every business is unique in its nature, scale, and scope of operations, so there’s never going to be a ‘one size fits all’ answer to the energy audit cost question.
However, for several years the guiding rule of thumb from The Department of Energy and Climate Change (before it was disbanded in 2023) was that an energy audit for your business should usually cost about 1% of your total energy bills.
This remains a useful proportional estimate to work from as a starting point, but as every professional energy audit is by nature bespoke, so are the costs involved.
According to The Energy Saving Trust, the average small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) can make a potential 18-25% reduction in overall costs on their energy bills, having implemented the strategies recommended following a comprehensive energy audit.
Take the long view, and it’s clear that, even with a modest number of efficiencies identified, the ongoing gains of a professional energy audit far outweigh the costs involved.
Which energy audit works for you?
There are also several different routes for making an energy audit and gauging potential savings. Many companies, including larger energy providers, offer an over-the-phone or ‘off-site’ audit service for SMEs, which will review your energy bills and other relevant data to provide your business with a broader idea of how to make more generalised energy savings.
Specialised energy audits are assessments that evaluate operations that are particular to a business (such as some type of manufacturing process). As such, walk-through specialised energy audits tend to be more costly, yet also have the greatest potential for delivering significant savings.
Getting help with energy audit costs
Regular energy audits have become a mandatory legal requirement for UK businesses consisting of over 250 employees, for other SMEs they are simply smart practices.
But before your business takes the plunge, and arranges an on-site business energy audit, the next astute step is to find out if the government or local councils can provide any financial assistance with your drive to a more efficient, lower energy business model.
There are a range of government schemes that offer grants, loans and subsidies to support small businesses in making a transition to more sustainable practices, which include:
- Helping with initial costs for investing in more energy-efficient equipment
- Initiatives for the reduction and management of waste
- Sustainable development
- Energy efficiency measures
Regions such as North Lanarkshire, offer SMEs an Energy Audit Voucher (EAV) which provides 100% of costs (excluding VAT) for an energy audit undertaken by a certified energy auditor, for SMEs that have been operating for over twelve months, to a maximum value of £2,500.
For other schemes and potential financial assistance in your business location, try searching the GOV.UK business finance support finder to see what you may be eligible to apply for. It’s also a good idea to contact your local council to inquire about any specific grants or subsidies they may have for sustainable business growth or energy efficiency funding.
You may be pleasantly surprised to discover your energy audit cost being partially or even fully covered by a local government initiative.
Learn about Renew & Sustain’s customised energy services
Energy audit costs and what’s involved
A more comprehensive energy audit is likely to be more expensive, but in terms of obtaining value, it never hurts to understand what’s involved in the process.
A walk-through audit of your business should include an assessment of your building envelope, that’s the physical features that form the barrier between outside and indoors (including insulation), hot water systems, lighting systems, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems electrical systems and equipment, as well as any specialised process or production systems particular to your business.
Equipment used by a a certified energy auditor (CEA) to make a detailed assessment should include at minimum:
- Thermometer
- Humidity meter
- Glass analyzer
- CO2 meter
- Clamp meter (for measuring electrical current, voltage, and resistance)
In addition, a competent CEA might use more advanced equipment, like a thermal imaging camera. This camera identifies air leakage, moisture issues, and thermal bridging. It also pinpoints insulation irregularities.
For lighting, a Lux meter is essential. It measures illuminance, gauging light levels inside buildings. These levels are then compared against basic required standards. The CEA also employs a power analyser, which assesses the electrical consumption profile of a facility.
Lastly, a combustion analyser is used. It measures the amount of CO2 and CO gases, allowing for the calculation of combustion efficiency in heating and hot water systems.
When it comes to evaluating the initial cost of an energy audit, getting an idea of what’s involved and the processes committed to be undertaken in order to create the data your business will use to assess savings is an important step.
An energy audit is an investment not a cost
As we have discussed, the question ‘How much does a business energy audit cost?’ is not one with a specific answer. Having said that, small businesses in the UK that aren’t employing specialist processes can currently expect to pay something in the range of £500 to £1,500 for a standard energy audit.
However, our most valuable piece of advice at Renew & Sustain would be never to consider an energy audit as a cost in the first place. Rather, think of it as an important business investment certain to deliver long-term returns. Returns that not only provide welcome financial savings but go beyond, enhancing your company’s reputation as a conscientious business. Get in touch with Renew & Sustain to start your energy-saving journey or request a free quote below.
