Energy Auditor

An Energy Auditor is an individual who performs energy audits for buildings, building systems, and process systems. An energy auditor's primary duties and responsibilities include calculating the amount of energy conservation, identifying any health or safety concerns that may arise due to planned welfare projects, and collecting and evaluating energy usage information from various sources. They also determine which energy-saving solutions are considerable, setting standards for energy use or need by monitoring energy consumption.

At a Glance

In the age of pressing climate change and global warming issues, the work of an energy auditor helps support the transition to renewable energy. Energy audits not only help substantially reduce carbon footprints by directly addressing areas of overconsumption of energy but can also help families and businesses reduce costs on energy bills - especially in a place like Canada where heat consumption is vital to everyday life.

Performing energy audits on residential and commercial buildings also helps to assess and improve their energy efficiency. With this vital information, energy auditors can help businesses transition to more eco-friendly and cost-effective energy consumption.

Some may not know this, but being an energy auditor indirectly helps save lives. They help find small leaks in compressed air systems or detect dangerous carbon monoxide emissions from equipment that needs to be properly ventilated.

Job Duties

Job duties vary significantly from one position to the next, but in general, Energy auditors are involved in the following activities:

Conduct energy audits in accordance with industry standards.
Prepare schematic design documents and specifications, including scopes of work.
Assist in identifying energy efficiency projects, their estimated cost, estimated energy savings, and estimated return on investment for clients.
Survey mechanical, energy management systems, electrical systems, lighting, water and building of sites.
Assessing insulations and sealings of homes- heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
Maintain familiarity with techniques used to extract data from smart meters.
Use testing equipment to identify energy conservation potential.
Analyze energy consumption for residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial customers.
Educate users on energy-use habits and potentials for consumption and cost reduction
Analyze audit documentation and data and prepare a report of audit findings.
Present audit findings to clients.
Perform audits in accordance with legal frameworks
Prepare cost estimates for potential retrofits.
Stay up-to-date on legislation and regulations.
Make recommendations for, coordinate, and participate in the construction of retrofit measures and energy efficiency upgrades.

Work Environment

Energy auditors work in a variety of locations, including, but not limited to:

The office:

Doing paperwork, analyzing data, and preparing detailed audit reports
Communicating on the phone and in meetings with clients, stakeholders, and government departments and presenting audit findings and recommendations
Reviewing documentation, policies, procedures, and reports
Researching energy-saving methods, new technology, and consulting with other auditors and professionals
Taking part in safety training

The field:

Touring and inspecting sites and conducting interviews
Taking measurements and recording data and observations, including documenting equipment specifications, schedules, occupancy details, and facility use patterns
Supervising the installation of equipment
Collecting and analyzing data associated with energy use
Compiling audit evidence and results
Supervising other auditors and professionals
Observing any health and safety issues on sites
Presenting recommended changes to operational procedures on efficient ways to reduce energy consumption

Where to Work

There are several places energy auditors can find employment. They include:

Federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal government departments
Utility, environmental and engineering consulting firms
Energy or property management firms
Universities, colleges, and research institutes
Construction contractors
Industrial, institutional, and commercial facilities

Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Boad

Education and Skills

Education

If you are considering a career as an energy auditor, you should have a strong interest in:

Mathematics
Chemistry
Physics
Computer Science

If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an energy auditor, the following programs are most applicable:

Mathematics
Civil Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Facility Management
Building Construction
Environmental Science

In most cases, the minimum education requirement is an undergraduate degree. Requirements for professional status vary among provinces.

Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.

Skills

Technical Skills

Query/scientific software: ie. IBM SPSS Statistics, SQL, R, Python, C++
Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel)
Building Inspections

Personal and Professional Skills

Positive attitude
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Friendly demeanour
A high degree of autonomy
Observance and perceptiveness
Logical thinking and attention to detail

Role Models

Dan Boudreau

While the rest of his friends were slogging through their first year of university, Dan Boudreau was taking time off. During his two-year break, he worked a number of what he calls dead-end jobs, earning minimum wage. "That experience was enough of a wake-up call to prompt me to apply for university.” Five years later, Dan had his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Brunswick.

Today, Dan works as a project manager with Enerplan, an energy management company based in Moncton, New Brunswick. As a part of his job, Dan regularly conducts energy audits. "Over 90 percent of the time, we conduct energy audits to help our clients reduce their own energy costs.”

The most important starting point before the energy audit contract is even won is looking over the proposed client’s energy bills. By doing this, Dan can compare the building or structure to a similar benchmark building and determine how much energy the building is using compared to the average energy expenditure.

Then Dan heads out to the site to conduct a visual inspection. On-site, Dan can be found crawling over pipes, crawling under ductwork, and generally trying to get a good feel for what he can do to save the company energy. "I just love getting on my hands and knees and seeing how a building works.” Dan also takes several different energy measurements to determine what areas, such as windows and doors, are losing the most energy. Once his inspection is complete, he heads back to the office, where he writes up the proposal.

When the contract is won, Dan researches a variety of solutions to reduce a building’s energy emissions. Usually, this can be completed at his desk and involves referring to similar projects he’s worked on, as well as researching new and innovative ways to conserve energy. Often the solutions are simple. "We’ve seen a lot of offices where the air conditioner and the heater are running at the same time, essentially fighting each other energy-wise.” In this case, Dan recommends that his client install an energy management control system (EMCS), a computer-operated system that can control everything from the heating, lighting, and air conditioning in a building. "An EMCS ensures that a building’s systems—heating, ventilation, air conditioning, etc.—are running as efficiently as possible.”

Despite offering this type of solution, Dan says people are apprehensive when they see an energy auditor in their office. "A lot of people think that we are going to reduce the temperature and leave them freezing in their office.” Energy auditing is about more than lowering the temperature to reduce energy costs. It’s about figuring out the best, most efficient ways to use energy: "Anything we can do to reduce our energy consumption would go a long way to preserving the environment, as well as save us money.”

Your Impact

As an energy auditor, the energy audits you perform usually fall into one of three categories: home, commercial buildings, and industrial plants. They also range in complexity, from a quick walk-through inspection to a comprehensive analysis of the implications of alternative energy efficiency measures.

Once an energy audit has been conducted, you work with a team of professionals to analyze the results and produce a technical report for the client that reveals areas where energy efficiency can be improved and reduce carbon and environmental footprints.

This occupation may require travel. Energy auditors are often required on site to perform audits, but they may be based out of a central location. When on the job, you are attentive to detail and perform audits in accordance with a given framework.

To be successful in this occupation, you need to be well versed in the technical side of things. You also need to have a positive attitude, strong communication skills and a friendly, approachable demeanour as you will be interacting with different business types and individuals.

We use energy every day whether to cook, or to power our homes, facilities, and businesses. A lot of times, we aren’t conscious of the ways in which we consume energy.

Whether it’s letting the tap run for too long or not turning the lights off when you leave a room, there are many parts of our daily routine that contributes to the misuse of energy that we may pay no attention to or even realize is wasteful.

Reasons such as these are why there is a need for energy auditors.

Some people mistakenly think that energy auditor’s look to reduce temperatures to the extent that rooms are left freezing. In reality, becoming an energy auditor involves a lot more than lowering room temperatures to reduce costs. It’s more about calculating the best and most efficient ways to use energy.

When performing an audit, an energy auditor may suggest installing an energy management control system (EMCS), which is a computer-operated system that can control everything from the heating, lighting, and air conditioning in a building. This type of management system ensures that all the building’s systems are running as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Not only does this benefit the environment; it lessens the works required to reduce energy consumption and helps save money in the long run.

Occupational Classification

Energy auditors can be classified in the following occupational groupings:

NOC Code: 22233 – Construction inspectors

NOC Code: 41400 – Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers

What is an NOC Code?

The National Occupation Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.