A mandatory energy audit… soon to be extended to the tertiary sector

“It only took one meeting with our night watchman to cut our electricity bill by €3,000 over four months,” says Jean-Paul Da Cunha, head of QHSE and sustainable development at Fuchs Lubrifiant. This subsidiary of German industrial group Fuchs Petrolub didn’t wait to conduct its energy audit, back in October 2015. Among the auditor’s findings was an anomaly at night, with electricity consumption well above expectations. “After a quick investigation, we discovered that our janitor was not systematically switching off the lights between rounds, as he had never been made aware of the issue. We did just that, with immediate results in terms of costs”, continues Jean-Paul Da Cunha.

The example sums up the spirit of the energy audit made compulsory by the DDADUE law of July 16, 2013, Article 40 of which transcribes Article 8 of the 2012 European directive on energy efficiency: it’s not a constraint, but an opportunity, the Ministry of Energy, the Environment and the Sea hammers home. While it is sometimes advisable to carry out major work, such as insulating buildings, some initiatives are just common sense and do not require the slightest investment.

PREPARATION AND SITE VISIT

The audit begins with an important preparatory phase. The company provides its energy bills, influencing factors, details of its organization and activities, and any other information the auditor needs to organize the visit. The duration depends on the size and number of sites; in the case of an energy audit in the building sector, it is not necessary to check all installations, but only a representative sample of sites. On site, the auditor collects data, takes new measurements and conducts field analyses, including interviewing on-site personnel. A few weeks later, AFNOR Energies submitted its report, detailing, item by item, the different types of consumption and listing the possibilities for optimizing and reducing them. The summary also specifies for each proposal the time required before return on investment.

“This document is very useful for our management, pointing out areas for improvement that we hadn’t imagined,” stresses Delphine Bénard, CSR manager at Docapost, a subsidiary of La Poste Group audited in July 2015. We were primarily interested in all actions with a return on investment (ROI) of less than five years. For example, raising the temperature in the server rooms by one degree, which we were air-conditioning more than necessary, adjusting the power of our electricity supply contracts, and replacing our lighting with more energy-efficient equipment as we go along.

SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS

The reports also quantify potential savings. Sometimes with huge surprises. If we complete all the opportunities with a ROI of less than four years, we will emit 542 tonnes less CO2 per year,” explains Jean-Paul Da Cunha. That’s 57% less electricity and 7% less gas, for annual savings of €236,000! ” These include raising employee awareness and insulating piping, which is at the heart of the company’s industrial activity.

“79% of the customers we audited believe they are on the way to implementing the recommended actions,” explains Catherine Moutet, head of AFNOR Energies, who insists on the need for follow-up. For the 52 companies audited last year, the savings resulting from the recommendations averaged 23% of the energy bill. In the coming months, new structures should be concerned by this obligation: a decree extending the scope of the audit to tertiary buildings is expected, with the same objectives.

WHAT DO THE REGULATIONS SAY?

By December 5, 2015, all companies with over 250 employees or annual sales of over €50 million and a balance sheet of over €43 million were required to carry out an audit of their energy consumption. To give the 10,000 structures concerned more time, the French Ministry of Energy, the Environment and the Sea has extended the deadline to June 30, 2016. In the event of non-compliance, penalties can be as high as 2% of sales excluding tax for the last financial year.

To comply with the law, the companies concerned must carry out a study covering 65% to 80% of their energy bills (including fuel), for expenditure relating to transport, buildings and industrial processes. Only ISO 50001 certification allows exemption from this obligation, which aims to reduce the energy footprint of companies by encouraging them to take practical steps to cut costs. AFNOR Energies is one of the organizations qualified to carry out this energy audit, which must comply with the requirements of standard NF EN 16247.

> Find out more about energy audits…

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