Energy Assessments and Benchmarking

Take the first step—get professional guidance to identify cost-effective opportunities that save time, money, and energy for your business

How It Works

Energy Assessments

Energy assessments, also known as energy audits, are often the first step in determining your energy performance. During an assessment, an energy specialist looks comprehensively at all areas of your building, such as how well it’s insulated, the effectiveness of your heating and cooling equipment, lighting characteristics, and indoor air quality.

The energy specialist then develops a road map for energy-saving and clean energy improvements that is customized to your business. This road map also includes a prioritized list of which upgrades will deliver the greatest impact, helping you make well-informed, cost-effective decisions.

NYSERDA can provide incentives and technical support to complete an energy study or assessment. Explore the program offerings below to find the right fit for your organization and facility type.

• Flexible Technical Assistance (FlexTech) Program: Commercial buildings, multifamily facilities, and higher education institutions can access cost-share support for a site-specific energy study with a NYSERDA FlexTech consultant.  
• Green New York Energy Studies: Small businesses and not-for-profits can access cost-share funding for a custom study to identify efficiency improvements and potential incentives and low-cost financing options for putting energy-saving measures into action.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is another way to understand your business’s energy performance—comparing your energy use to that of similar organizations, your own past performance, or nationally recognized standards. To be most effective, benchmarking should be completed regularly to determine whether your energy performance is improving. ENERGY STAR® PortfolioManager® offers a free online tool designed to measure and benchmark the energy use of any facility type.

How You Benefit

Energy assessments and benchmarking can help your business or facility in several ways:

• Receive expert advice on your business’s overall energy performance and recommended energy-saving improvements.
• Understand your energy performance over time and compared it to other businesses
• Uncover hidden problems that may be making your building less efficient
• Identify potential health and safety concerns, such as improper ventilation, that may cause mold and mildew growth and degrade air quality
• Futureproof your business ahead of municipal or statewide benchmarking and disclosure requirements
• Earn recognition for your sustainability efforts by engaging employees and reporting performance on energy use

When You Should Consider It

Energy assessments and benchmarking may be good for your business if you are:

• Developing an energy strategy and energy action plan for your business
• Establishing a baseline of your energy performance
• Forming and setting goals related to energy management
• Identifying energy saving opportunities to optimize operations and reduce costs
• Interested in seeing how your energy performance compares to that of similar businesses
• Trying to obtain or improve a green building certification for your building

You Might Also Be Interested In

Energy benchmarking and assessments can help identify operational inefficiencies and improve your business’s bottom line. Consider leveraging your energy tracking systems and assessments to improve performance with additional energy planning and cost-effective investments, including:

• Corporate Commitment & Dedicated Energy Teams: Learn best practices for forming a cross-functional team dedicated to managing energy across the organization.
• Energy Programs & Incentives: Explore federal, New York State, and utility programs offering financial and technical support for businesses.
• Real Time Energy Management: Optimize your energy use with smart building technologies that work in real time to monitor performance and detect inefficiencies.