Energy audit questions, answered without padding

A structured investigation of how an organisation uses energy: analysis of at least twelve months of consumption data, a physical survey of the buildings and systems, and a costed register of savings measures. It answers two questions — where the energy goes, and what specifically would reduce it — with numbers robust enough to spend against.

Qualification is assessed at 31 December 2026 and the compliance deadline is 5 December 2027. Phase 4 adds reporting against the action plan filed in Phase 3. Organisations starting in 2026 get audit slots on their own timetable; organisations starting in autumn 2027 compete for scarce lead assessor capacity at premium rates.

UK organisations with 250 or more employees, or with turnover above £44m and a balance sheet above £38m, measured at the qualification date. Group rules apply: one qualifying UK company pulls the whole UK group into scope, with the highest UK parent responsible for compliance.

All quoted companies, plus unquoted companies and LLPs meeting two of: 250+ employees, £36m+ turnover, £18m+ balance sheet. Disclosure goes in the directors' report every financial year — energy use, Scope 1 and 2 emissions, an intensity ratio and an efficiency narrative. A 40 MWh de minimis exemption exists but must be declared.

A statutory five-yearly inspection of air-conditioning systems whose combined cooling output exceeds 12 kW — aggregated across all units in the building, which is why ten small splits trigger it. Non-compliance carries a £300 fixed penalty per building and, more painfully, surfaces during property transactions.

Single sites: £1,500–£4,000. ESOS programmes: £5,000–£25,000+ depending on estate size and sampling. SECR support: £1,500–£6,000 a year. TM44: £300–£1,500 per building. All our fees are fixed at proposal stage — the full pricing logic is on the cost page.

Across UK commercial estates, 10–25% of energy spend in identifiable measures is the consistent range, with the first tranche usually operational fixes costing little or nothing: out-of-hours plant running, fighting setpoints, scheduling errors, compressed air leaks. Identification is the audit's job; the savings arrive when the register is implemented.

A letter of authority to access supply data, twelve months of bills per meter, and an estate list with floor areas and operating hours. Half-hourly electricity data does the heavy lifting — if your meters are half-hourly settled (most commercial supplies now are), we can pull the data with your authority and need very little else to start.

Yes — surveys are designed around live operations. We need escorted access to plant rooms and distribution boards, not shutdowns. For 24/7 operations like cold storage and manufacturing, seeing the site running is actively useful: the audit is about how the building behaves in use.

No. An EPC models the building's theoretical efficiency for sale and letting compliance; an audit measures actual organisational energy use and identifies savings. Different instruments, different specialists, different outputs. If you need certificates for a transaction, commercial EPC assessors handle that; if you need to cut spend or comply with ESOS, you need an audit.

For ESOS, transport must be included in total consumption and can fall within the audited 95%. Process energy is often where industrial savings concentrate — compressed air alone commonly wastes 20–30% of compressor output. Both are standard scope items in our proposals rather than extras.

Sequencing. Efficiency measures shrink and reshape the load; the solar system is then sized against the post-efficiency, half-hourly profile, which maximises self-consumption and shortens payback. The audit-to-solar page walks through the pathway, including a worked example where audit-first sizing cut the capital requirement by roughly 30%.

ESOS sign-off is performed by lead assessors on approved registers, as the scheme requires, and TM44 inspections by accredited air-conditioning energy assessors. Accreditation details are supplied with every proposal so you can verify them before engaging — we would encourage exactly that check on any firm you shortlist.

Come into compliance before the regulator finds the gap. The Environment Agency has issued penalties for late and absent Phase 3 notifications, but voluntary late compliance is treated more leniently than discovered non-compliance. The work is the same audit either way; the difference is who controls the timetable.