{"id":1261,"date":"2011-07-08T15:00:17","date_gmt":"2011-07-08T15:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=1261"},"modified":"2026-03-14T17:47:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T21:47:33","slug":"an-energy-auditors-toolbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/07\/08\/an-energy-auditors-toolbox\/","title":{"rendered":"An Energy Auditor’s Toolbox"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Carrie Gonnella, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at Catawba College<\/a> in Salisbury, NC; MEM\/MBA candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment\/Fuqua School of Business, Duke University<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two weeks into my EDF Climate Corps Public Sector (CCPS) fellowship, I attended an energy assessment training put on by the State of North Carolina and hosted by the Center for the Environment at Catawba College.\u00a0 This was a great opportunity to expand on what I learned at CCPS training. This three day training included a dozen energy topics, hands-on demos, and a practice energy assessment of a Catawba dormitory.<\/p>\n

Dr. Joe Davis, who led the training, works in North Carolina\u2019s Energy Office and has many years of experience in energy assessment.\u00a0 I completed training with 40 representatives from colleges and municipalities. We were eager to develop our understanding of the tools and steps needed in a comprehensive energy assessment.\u00a0 We covered lighting, HVAC, motors, compressed air, boilers, and chillers.\u00a0 Dr. Davis showed us tools that were applicable to each situation.\u00a0 By the end of the training I was able to develop a list of tools that would assist me in my own energy assessment of Catawba\u2019s buildings. Catawba\u2019s Center for the Environment purchased these tools, which will be useful to my work this summer, and can be used as teaching tools in the future. \u00a0Here are some of the tools:<\/p>\n

Infrared Thermometer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just point the laser at the surface of your choice, press the trigger, and the\u00a0thermometer instantly reads the surface temperature.\u00a0 This tool allows me to compare the actual room temperature to what the wall thermostat is set at,\u00a0gauge the temperature of air blowing out of AC vents, and check the\u00a0temperature around windows to test air exchange between conditioned indoor spaces and the outdoors.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Infrared Thermometer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Electricity Usage Monitor<\/strong><\/p>\n

This meter can record the actual energy usage of any device that plugs into a wall outlet.\u00a0 Just plug the monitor into the wall, plug the device into the monitor, and check back on it after a couple hours, days, or weeks to see the total KWH used.\u00a0 I\u2019ll use this tool to evaluate the efficiency of vending machines, office equipment, and refrigerators.<\/p>\n

Light Meter<\/strong><\/p>\n

The light meter measures illuminance in lux or foot-candles.\u00a0 Held at table\u00a0height, I can gauge how much light is hitting a work surface and compare that data to standard levels for different tasks.\u00a0 If I find an area that has higher illuminance than necessary for the tasks performed there, Catawba could delamp some fixtures to save electricity, money, and emissions.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Light Meter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ballast Checker<\/strong><\/p>\n

The newer electronic ballasts for fluorescent tubes are more efficient than the\u00a0traditional magnetic ballast.\u00a0 To quickly tell if a room has magnetic or electronic ballasts, I simply point this device at the ballast and press the button.\u00a0 A green light\u00a0means I\u2019m looking at an electronic ballast, and a red light means there is efficiency improvement potential if Catawba is able to switch from magnetic to electronic ballasts.<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Ballast Checker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve got my bag of tools packed, and I\u2019m ready to explore the energy efficiency opportunities here on Catawba\u2019s campus!<\/p>\n

EDF Climate Corps Public Sector<\/a> (CCPS) trains graduate students to identify energy efficiency savings in colleges, universities, local governments and houses of worship.\u00a0 The program focuses partnerships with minority serving institutions and diverse communities.\u00a0 Apply as a CCPS fellow<\/a>, view our past projects<\/a> and follow us on Twitter<\/a> to get regular updates about this program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Carrie Gonnella, 2011 Climate Corps Public Sector Fellow at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC; MEM\/MBA candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment\/Fuqua School of Business, Duke University Two weeks into my EDF Climate Corps Public Sector (CCPS) fellowship, I attended an energy assessment training put on by the State of North Carolina and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1077],"tags":[27632],"coauthors":[114057],"class_list":["post-1261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-edf-climate-corps","tag-catawba-college-2011"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn Energy Auditor's Toolbox - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/07\/08\/an-energy-auditors-toolbox\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Energy Auditor's Toolbox - 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