The coordinator of the International MBA Master in Industrial Business Management at Bureau Veritas University Center , Eduardo Díez, talks to us in this post about the new Royal Decree 56/2016 on Energy Efficiency.
With the entry into force of RD 56/2016 , the purpose of which is to promote and involve organisations in the search for and improvement of Energy Efficiency , two important concepts have come into play, which have recently led to a frantic search for and varied interpretation of information. These are, " obligation " and especially " energy audit ".
The first of these is frightening because of its forcefulness, as it is normative legislation, and since its meaning is well known, nothing will be added to it, except that this obligation only affects those viber data considered large companies (mainly those with more than 250 employees and whose turnover exceeds 50 million euros).
In this post we will focus on briefly outlining the general guidelines relating to these energy audits , which are based on the requirements established by the European regulation UNE-EN 16247-1 .
Energy audit and its actors
Energy audit. Inspection process that systematically analyses the energy consumption of an organisation or part of it in order to identify, understand and report on its energy flows and potential possibilities for improvement.
Energy auditor. Person, team of people or organisation responsible for carrying out energy audits and who must therefore demonstrate certain skills and attitudes (competence, objectivity, transparency, confidentiality, etc.)
Organization. Group, institution, company, business or organization that operates, uses and manages different forms of energy.
Thus, it should be noted that any energy audit process must, in relation to the auditor and the organization:
Adapt the objectives , the level of detail and the scope , as well as define the organization and the equipment , systems, processes, facilities, etc. that will be subject to the audit.
Faithfully represent and trace the situation , collecting relevant, reliable and trustworthy data and information and identifying its origin and processing.
Be useful and analytical regarding the effectiveness of the energy saving options identified and allow verification of the achievements with respect to the objectives indicated in the improvements that could have been or are going to be implemented.
Phases of an energy audit process: main characteristics
Prior agreement. During this contact between the auditor and the organization, the expectations, objectives, limits and scope, level of detail, deadline, time and resource needs of the organization, evaluation criteria for the Energy Efficiency improvement measures, requirements, collection and format of prior data on energy and activity will be agreed upon…
Kick-off meeting. This meeting will serve to inform all interested parties about what was previously agreed upon and where the auditor will describe the means, processes and schedule of the energy audit.
Data collection. Data will be collected regarding systems, processes and equipment with their detailed characteristics and documentation on operation, design and maintenance, historical data, relevant past operations and events, audits or previous studies, current and projected rates, status of the Management System, if applicable, etc. All of this from the point of view of energy consumption and performance.
Field work. In this phase, it will be essential to establish how the inspections, tasks, actions and conduct will be carried out by the energy auditor, as well as to define and agree with the organization the conditions for site visits.