Farm Energy Audits

An energy audit can identify opportunities to save between 10% and 35% of current energy use, and will prioritize the most cost-effective ways to save energy on the farm. When making a business decision such as upgrading equipment, the energy audit provides information to maximize the return on investment. It also helps form a plan for greater energy independence.

Our farm energy audits analyze current energy use based on farm utility bills and operational information and include detailed recommendations for improving energy efficiency. Because each farm is unique our audits are customized to meet the specific needs of each farm.

With over 20 years’ experience, EnSave has helped set the standard for farm energy audits, and served on the team to create the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ Standard 612: Performing On-Farm Energy Audits.  We are also a registered Technical Service Provider to provide agricultural energy management plans in the 49 states and Puerto Rico.

We have completed over 2,500 farm energy audits for all farm types, including hundreds for federal programs such as the USDA Rural Energy for America Program and the Agricultural Energy Management Plans funded through the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Our audits follow a five-step process:

1. We conduct an initial phone interview to gather preliminary information and explain what to expect from the energy audit process.
2. We dispatch a local energy data collector to visit the farm to verify and collect information about energy use. We have trained over 250 data collectors throughout the United States.
3. Our engineers complete a thorough data analysis, including an analysis of the farm’s utility history to determine where the energy is being used. We review all fuels used on the farm.
4. We deliver a clear and concise narrative energy audit report including recommendations for conservation and efficiency measures and payback period for each measure.
5. EnSave follows up with the farmer to answer questions, review the energy audit’s recommendations, and discuss opportunities for implementation.

EnSave has been certified by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as a Technical Service Provider to provide the Headquarters Agricultural Energy Management Plan, commonly known as a farm energy audit, in the lower 48 states and Puerto Rico. We have also been certified to provide the Landscape Agricultural Energy Management Plan in Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia.

A Headquarters Energy Management Plan reviews the energy use of stationary agricultural equipment and the Landscape Energy Management Plan reviews the energy used on the working land, or in the cultivation protection and harvesting of agricultural crops.