Audit Costs for the 1986 Texas Energy Cost Containment Program

Abstract

Direct program costs for detailed audits of 13.5 million square feet of institutional building space in the 1986 Texas Energy Cost Containment Program were $0.047/SF. The building area was 63 percent simple (offices, schools, and universities) and 37 percent complex (medical buildings and power plants). Allowing for the influence of one large facility which received less-extensive treatment due to previous work, thorough audits were obtained for an average cost of $0.050/SF. Large medical buildings (greater than about 170,000 square feet) were audited for $0.050/SF or less, and program costs for survey audits of 17.2 million square feet were $0.0028/SF. The effect on audit costs of complexity of recommended modifications, amount of savings determined, amount of implementation costs, building size, and building complexity are discussed. Primary effects on audit costs are size and complexity of buildings. Program guidelines limited consideration of projects with greater than a four year payback.