Energy audits are becoming best prac tice, as well as compliance obligations, for industrial, commercial, and residential buildings. Although in the United States only a few states and local jurisdictions now require them, energy audits will become accepted practice within the next several years. Commercial and industrial building owners and managers will insist on audits to help them control costs and in transactions to allow buyers and sellers to evaluate the costs of buildings operations. Because energy audit results likely will be standard disclosure documents in commercial transactions, as well as legally required reportable data to government agencies in many jurisdictions, counsel should be involved in key decisions regarding the disclosure of and reliance upon information in energy audits.
There is no global or U.S. standardized definition of an energy audit. Its principal purpose is to evaluate energy or other resource use and identify potential cost savings. An energy audit can vary in detail, complexity, and resource investment. Increasingly, states, municipalities, and the business community are using the joint Environmental Protection Agency/Department of Energy Energy Star program’s Portfolio Manager to compile the data in an energy audit. Portfolio Manager is an online tool that allows owners and operators of buildings (and those who may be acquiring them) to:
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