Conducting an energy audit

Explanations on the need to conduct an energy audit in buildings and enterprises, how to choose a certified energy auditor, and how to obtain an energy certificate.

What is an energy audit?

An energy audit is an examination of a residential building or enterprise, the purpose of which is to determine its technical condition and energy consumption efficiency. An energy audit is carried out by specialists in energy certification of buildings.

The Law of Ukraine "On Energy Saving" establishes that an energy audit is a determination of the efficiency of the use of fuel and energy resources and the development of recommendations for its improvement. In other words, an energy audit is carried out in order to establish the efficiency of the use of energy resources and the development of economically justified measures to reduce their consumption. The main task is to determine ways to increase the energy efficiency of buildings for various purposes.

Why is an energy audit conducted?

Conducting an energy audit makes it possible to find out how efficiently a building or enterprise consumes fuel and energy resources, and to determine where and why excessive energy losses occur. Based on the problem definition, the audit specialist develops appropriate energy-saving measures, programs and recommendations that need to be implemented to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy losses in this building.

Priorities for implementing energy efficiency measures in the absence of adequate funding and recommendations for implementing an energy management system are indicated.

According to the results of the energy audit, the most effective ways to minimize energy costs for heating a building are to use modern mineral insulation and facade thermal insulation systems, window systems with high thermal insulation properties, optimize CO operating modes, etc.

Energy audit forms

Energy audit can be voluntary or mandatory .

With the consent of the manager or owner of the facility, a voluntary energy audit may be carried out at the request of the interested entity .

A mandatory energy audit is carried out at the request and at the expense of interested executive authorities or local self-government bodies regarding state-owned facilities, the list of which is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine or a body authorized by it.

Based on the energy audit, an Energy Efficiency Certificate must be created - a document of a prescribed form, which indicates the indicators and class of the building's energy efficiency, provides recommendations for its improvement, as well as other information about the building and its separate parts for which certification was carried out.

Today, the Law of Ukraine "On Energy Efficiency of Buildings" regulates the concept and process of energy efficiency certification as a type of energy audit. Energy efficiency certification and inspection of building engineering systems are only allowed to be carried out by a certified audit specialist and a certified engineering systems inspection specialist.

How to order an energy audit?

You can order an energy audit and receive an Energy Efficiency Certificate from an experienced energy auditor at the Van Project architectural bureau. In addition, the network has an expanded list of energy auditors in Ukraine, developed by the Energy Efficiency Fund. The map contains contacts of specialists in energy efficiency certification of buildings, the region of their activity, information about work experience, etc. The resource allows you to search for work in your home.

What is a building energy performance certificate?

The energy efficiency certificate is drawn up on the basis of an energy audit. Its validity period is 10 years. This certificate must have the following elements:

address of the building or its separate part;
the energy efficiency class of a building or its separate part, determined by the contractor performing works in the field of ensuring the energy efficiency of buildings in accordance with the Methodology for Determining the Energy Efficiency of Buildings;
information about the type, functional purpose and design of the building or its separate part, number of floors, volume and total area;
minimum requirements for the energy efficiency of a building or its separate part, applicable to buildings of this class;
actual energy efficiency indicators of the building;
recommendations for increasing the economically feasible level of energy efficiency of the building and its separate part, which take into account local climatic conditions, are technically and economically justified and indicate the actions that need to be taken to implement such recommendations in practice;
series and number of the qualification certificate of the contractor who prepared the building's energy efficiency certificate;
information on carbon dioxide emissions;
information on where to obtain more detailed information on the information specified in the certificate, including recommendations for increasing the economically feasible level of energy efficiency of buildings or their separate parts.

Mandatory certification of energy efficiency of buildings

Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine "On Energy Efficiency of Buildings" defines the following objects for which energy efficiency certification of buildings is mandatory:

construction sites (new construction, reconstruction, major repairs), which by the class of consequences (liability) belong to sites with medium (CC2) and significant (CC3) consequences;
state-owned buildings with a heated area of over 250 square meters, which are frequently visited by citizens and in all of which government bodies are located;
buildings with a heated area of over 250 square meters, in all premises of which local government bodies are located (in the event that they carry out thermal modernization of such buildings);
buildings undergoing thermal modernization, for which state support is provided and which results in achieving a building energy efficiency class not lower than the minimum requirements for building energy efficiency.

The result of an energy audit is a Recommendation Report or Energy Efficiency Certificate .

Energy efficiency recommendation report

A recommendation report is a document developed on the basis of current regulatory documents and compiled by an audit specialist, which allows the customer to make a decision about implementing energy efficiency measures in a building.

Energy conservation is becoming increasingly relevant in Ukraine. More and more often, construction companies are taking advantage of the opportunity to implement energy-efficient measures, and owners of existing buildings are modernizing them using various methods.

You need to conduct a diagnostics of your home or business to find out what energy saving measures it needs. The main goal of an energy audit is to identify methods to increase the energy efficiency of your home, which will result in improved indoor climate and lower maintenance costs.

View detailed information about the Building Energy Audit service