More for the efficiency auditing toolkit

A software package designed for a touch-screen tablet PC lets auditors collect energy usage data for direct upload into an accepted efficiency analysis program, such as Energy Star, for immediate ratings and efficiency improvement recommendations.

Called kW-Field, the software is billed as a quantum leap of data collection efficiency for the commercial energy auditing industry. kW-Field simplifies and streamlines the data collection stage by automating repetitive tasks. The data, pictures and audio notes are subsequently uploaded to a web-based system for analysis.

The recent distribution of $4 billion from the General Services Administration to bring energy efficiency to Federal Government buildings is the latest in a series of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants that is driving up the demand for commercial building audits. A few examples include the recent distribution of $452 million in grants to California, Maine, Michigan, New York and 21 communities around the country as part of the ARRA and the announcement from the U.S. Dept. of Energy that $28 million will be made available for energy efficiency retrofits in federal government buildings.

According to a 2009 survey of the energy industry by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), commercial energy audits are typically performed by professional engineers with an average of 15 years of experience. These highly-skilled, costly individuals spend much of their time performing simple repetitive data collection tasks, such as recording nameplate efficiencies on various components and manually migrating shorthand notes to spreadsheets. kW-Field eliminates all of the time consuming paperwork and data entry giving auditors time to conduct more audits thus having a positive effect on the company’s bottom line.

More info: www.kwhours.com