A Novel Methodology Proposal for the Realization of Energy Audits in Small Office Buildings

The interest of companies in reducing their energy consumption has been of latent interest in recent years, and Costa Rica is no exception. In this case, the government has established different policies aiming for the reduction of energy costs for the industry sector; however, the method for reaching this goal is not clear. Hence, in this paper we propose a methodology, from an electrical point of view, for conducting energy audits, specifically for small office buildings (those in which the energy consumption is up to 200,000 kWh per year). The proposed method considers different aspects which include: the intention of a carrying out an energy audit, determination of problematic areas and, the application of updated standards, and regulations. For this particular study, the methodology proposal was evaluated in a smal building and it was determined that with the joint application of three measures the monthly cost of the electricity bill can be reduced up to 50%.