At Energy Egghead, we take a balanced approach to commercial, institutional, and industrial building auditing by analyzing mechanicals and their interaction with the building envelope.
Historically, the focus of commercial, institutional, and industrial building energy audits has been primarily mechanical equipment efficiency; equipment is examined without looking at its effect on air-pressure imbalances and resulting heat loss through the building envelope. Studies on the impact of air infiltration on heating and cooling loads in U.S. office buildings have shown that infiltration is responsible for about 33 percent of total heating energy use.
We utilize standard ASTM methods for determining air leakage rate by fan pressurization. We use ASTM methods for determining airtightness of buildings using an orifice blower door and ASTM Standard Practice for Thermographic Inspection of Insulation Installations in Envelope Cavities of Frame Buildings.