The use of technology and ingenuity is helping both home and business owners find ways to participate in energy conservation programs during this crisis. Working with our partners, Summerhill has been using virtual or remote auditing in isolated communities to identify opportunities to reduce energy and save money. It’s also proven to be a fun, interactive, and educational way to engage people on the many low-cost ways to make their home or building more comfortable and efficient. It’s timely too… given how many occupants are inside their premises right now.

While virtual or remote energy auditing is not a new concept, it’s essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, when face-to-face interaction isn’t possible. Typically, energy audits involve an on-site visit, i.e., a trained auditor who tests the building envelope, undertakes a visual inspection of equipment, and interviews maintenance/operational staff or the homeowner in order to collect data needed to identify energy savings opportunities. While this remains the preferred approach, virtual auditing can achieve similar results at a reduced cost.

The virtual audit approach has several important benefits, including:

  1. It’s safe and practical during COVID-19, where social distancing requirements make in-person audits unadvisable
  2. Technology enables accurate data collection that can be compared against buildings/homes with similar characteristics.
  3. It is much cheaper than traditional in-person audits, meaning more audits can be completed in a shorter period.
  4. It’s carbon friendly!

Summerhill is working in communities across Canada to ensure both businesses and homeowners are living in a safe, comfortable and efficient home. With access to interval data and using technology and in-house engineering expertise, it’s possible to derive important insights to uncover savings for our clients. We hope that this virtual technology-based approach can inform policy makers to the opportunities available to accelerate the participation rate of both business and homeowners in energy conservation programming.