Energy Audit — Commercial Building Assessment
Run a full energy audit for commercial or industrial facilities. Identifies waste, models savings, and generates a prioritized retrofit roadmap with ROI timelines.
What It Does
- Collects utility data (electric, gas, water, steam) across 12+ months
- Benchmarks consumption against ASHRAE and ENERGY STAR baselines
- Identifies the top 10 energy conservation measures (ECMs) ranked by payback period
- Calculates simple payback, IRR, and lifecycle cost for each measure
- Generates an ASHRAE Level II audit report with executive summary
- Flags utility rate optimization opportunities (demand response, TOU shifting)
- Maps available rebates and incentive programs by state/region
How to Use
Tell your agent:
- "Run an energy audit for our 45,000 sq ft office building"
- "Analyze our utility bills and find savings opportunities"
- "Create a retrofit roadmap for our warehouse — budget is $200K"
Provide:
- Building type — office, retail, warehouse, manufacturing, healthcare, education
- Square footage and location (climate zone matters)
- 12 months of utility bills (or monthly kWh/therms if summarized)
- Operating hours — shifts, weekend usage, seasonal patterns
- Major equipment — HVAC age/type, lighting, compressed air, process loads
Audit Framework
Benchmarking
- EUI (Energy Use Intensity) = total kBtu ÷ sq ft
- Compare against CBECS median by building type
- ENERGY STAR score target: 75+ (top quartile)
Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs)
| Category |
Typical Savings |
Payback |
| LED retrofit |
40-60% lighting |
1-3 years |
| HVAC controls/BMS |
15-25% HVAC |
2-4 years |
| VFDs on motors/fans |
20-50% motor |
1-3 years |
| Envelope (insulation, air sealing) |
10-20% heating/cooling |
3-7 years |
| Demand response enrollment |
5-15% peak demand |
Immediate |
| Solar PV |
30-70% electric |
5-8 years (with ITC) |
| Heat recovery |
10-30% thermal |
2-5 years |
Financial Analysis
For each ECM:
- Simple payback = cost ÷ annual savings
- IRR = internal rate of return over equipment life
- Lifecycle cost = install + maintenance - savings - rebates over useful life
- Avoided cost = include utility escalation rate (typically 2-4%/year)
Rebate & Incentive Check
- Federal: ITC (30% solar), 179D deduction ($0.50-$5.00/sq ft)
- State: DSIRE database lookup by ZIP code
- Utility: custom incentive programs ($/kWh saved, $/kW reduced)
Output Format
ENERGY AUDIT REPORT
Building: [name] | Type: [type] | Size: [sq ft] | Location: [city, state]
CURRENT PERFORMANCE
Annual Energy Cost: $XXX,XXX
EUI: XX.X kBtu/sq ft (benchmark: XX.X — [above/below] median)
ENERGY STAR Score: XX/100
TOP RECOMMENDATIONS (ranked by payback)
#1: [ECM] — $XX,XXX savings/yr | $XX,XXX cost | X.X yr payback | XX% IRR
#2: [ECM] — ...
TOTAL OPPORTUNITY
Combined Savings: $XXX,XXX/yr (XX% reduction)
Total Investment: $XXX,XXX
Blended Payback: X.X years
Available Rebates: $XX,XXX
IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP
Phase 1 (0-6 mo): [quick wins — LED, controls, demand response]
Phase 2 (6-18 mo): [HVAC, VFDs, envelope]
Phase 3 (18-36 mo): [renewables, major retrofits]
Why This Matters
Commercial buildings waste 30% of the energy they consume (DOE). A $500K/year energy bill typically has $150K+ in recoverable savings. Most measures pay for themselves in 2-4 years, then it's pure margin.
Built by AfrexAI — AI context packs for real business operations.
Explore more tools:
1---2name: energy-audit-commercial-building-assessment3description: Run a full energy audit for commercial or industrial facilities. Identifies waste, models savings, and generates a prioritized retrofit roadmap with ROI timelines.4---5
6# Energy Audit — Commercial Building Assessment
7
8Run a full energy audit for commercial or industrial facilities. Identifies waste, models savings, and generates a prioritized retrofit roadmap with ROI timelines.
9
10## What It Does
11
12- Collects utility data (electric, gas, water, steam) across 12+ months
13- Benchmarks consumption against ASHRAE and ENERGY STAR baselines
14- Identifies the top 10 energy conservation measures (ECMs) ranked by payback period
15- Calculates simple payback, IRR, and lifecycle cost for each measure
16- Generates an ASHRAE Level II audit report with executive summary
17- Flags utility rate optimization opportunities (demand response, TOU shifting)
18- Maps available rebates and incentive programs by state/region
19
20## How to Use
21
22Tell your agent:
23- "Run an energy audit for our 45,000 sq ft office building"
24- "Analyze our utility bills and find savings opportunities"
25- "Create a retrofit roadmap for our warehouse — budget is $200K"
26
27Provide:
281. **Building type** — office, retail, warehouse, manufacturing, healthcare, education
292. **Square footage** and location (climate zone matters)
303. **12 months of utility bills** (or monthly kWh/therms if summarized)
314. **Operating hours** — shifts, weekend usage, seasonal patterns
325. **Major equipment** — HVAC age/type, lighting, compressed air, process loads
33
34## Audit Framework
35
36### Benchmarking
37- EUI (Energy Use Intensity) = total kBtu ÷ sq ft
38- Compare against CBECS median by building type
39- ENERGY STAR score target: 75+ (top quartile)
40
41### Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs)
42
43| Category | Typical Savings | Payback |
44|----------|----------------|---------|
45| LED retrofit | 40-60% lighting | 1-3 years |
46| HVAC controls/BMS | 15-25% HVAC | 2-4 years |
47| VFDs on motors/fans | 20-50% motor | 1-3 years |
48| Envelope (insulation, air sealing) | 10-20% heating/cooling | 3-7 years |
49| Demand response enrollment | 5-15% peak demand | Immediate |
50| Solar PV | 30-70% electric | 5-8 years (with ITC) |
51| Heat recovery | 10-30% thermal | 2-5 years |
52
53### Financial Analysis
54For each ECM:
55- **Simple payback** = cost ÷ annual savings
56- **IRR** = internal rate of return over equipment life
57- **Lifecycle cost** = install + maintenance - savings - rebates over useful life
58- **Avoided cost** = include utility escalation rate (typically 2-4%/year)
59
60### Rebate & Incentive Check
61- Federal: ITC (30% solar), 179D deduction ($0.50-$5.00/sq ft)
62- State: DSIRE database lookup by ZIP code
63- Utility: custom incentive programs ($/kWh saved, $/kW reduced)
64
65## Output Format
66
67```
68ENERGY AUDIT REPORT
69Building: [name] | Type: [type] | Size: [sq ft] | Location: [city, state]
70
71CURRENT PERFORMANCE
72Annual Energy Cost: $XXX,XXX
73EUI: XX.X kBtu/sq ft (benchmark: XX.X — [above/below] median)
74ENERGY STAR Score: XX/100
75
76TOP RECOMMENDATIONS (ranked by payback)
77#1: [ECM] — $XX,XXX savings/yr | $XX,XXX cost | X.X yr payback | XX% IRR
78#2: [ECM] — ...
79
80TOTAL OPPORTUNITY
81Combined Savings: $XXX,XXX/yr (XX% reduction)
82Total Investment: $XXX,XXX
83Blended Payback: X.X years
84Available Rebates: $XX,XXX
85
86IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP
87Phase 1 (0-6 mo): [quick wins — LED, controls, demand response]
88Phase 2 (6-18 mo): [HVAC, VFDs, envelope]
89Phase 3 (18-36 mo): [renewables, major retrofits]
90```
91
92## Why This Matters
93
94Commercial buildings waste 30% of the energy they consume (DOE). A $500K/year energy bill typically has $150K+ in recoverable savings. Most measures pay for themselves in 2-4 years, then it's pure margin.
95
96---
97
98Built by [AfrexAI](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/) — AI context packs for real business operations.
99
100Explore more tools:
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102- [Agent Setup Wizard](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/agent-setup/) — deploy AI agents in minutes
103- [Context Packs](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/) — $47 industry-specific agent configs for Manufacturing, Professional Services, and more
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