An Energy Audit is an assessment of a site’s energy consumption and provides recommendations on how energy use can be reduced or improved. An Audit can advise how much energy you use for each unit you produce or for the water you pump and tell you some cost effective strategies to reduce your energy use and costs. 

There are three types of energy audit: 

Type 1 is a basic energy audit. This audit will be based on a site visit and review of your power bills, and give you some broad estimates of energy savings opportunities on the site. 

Type 2 is a detailed energy audit. This audit will provide a more detailed assessment of your energy use and more specific recommendations to a medium level of accuracy. 

Type 3 is a precision subsystem audit. This is a more specific audit designed to give more precise recommendations on a system like a pump and irrigation system or a cold room or processing equipment. 

A good description of these audit types including a quick reference guide has been developed by the Energy Efficiency Council here.

The required audit for different farm will vary depending on the energy spend for the site, the type of equipment and the level of detail required. For example, a small farm with a number of separate irrigation pumps may consider a Type 1 audit for the whole farm plus some individual Type 3 audits for the pumps and irrigation system. A more complex farm with cold rooms, processing and packing sheds might start for a Type 2 audit to identify priority improvements. 

An energy audit is worth considering before any major investments in energy equipment including solar power. 

There is an Australian Standard that defines what should be included in an audit and the skills and competencies of energy auditors. 

For details on how the current program of 200 Energy Savers audits will work, please refer to our website https://www.qff.org.au/participant-information/. 

For information on how to conduct an energy assessment yourself, see https://www.energy.gov.au/business/conduct-energy-assessment.

The CCIQ’s ecoBiz program can also assist with energy, water and waste efficiency advice and ecoBiz experts can visit your site to do a walk-through assessment. For more information, see the ecoBiz website www.cciqecobiz.com.au.

There are over 50 case studies from recent audit recipients on the energy savers website https://www.qff.org.au/newsroom/case-studies/.