7 ways to truth check energy data so you can bite into it with confidence

1. Cut the bad spots out of your energy data
7 ways to truth-check your data so you can bite into it with confidence
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com

2. 1. Beware alphabet soup
CCF? MMBTU? kWh? It’s easy to get mixed up in energy unit alphabet soup. But
mixing units will make your totals inaccurate. First convert all energy use to the
same unit of measurement, such as MMBTUs. Then add it together.
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3. 2. Check your conversion factors
A conversion factor is the number that you multiply one unit of measurement by
in order to calculate the equivalent use in a different unit of measurement. For
example: 300 kWh x 0.003412 = 1.0236 MMBTUs
↑
conversion factor
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com

4. 3. Beware of missing ingredients
When fuels are missing from the total, energy use looks better than it is.
Remember: Nearly every building has at least one electric account, and most have
an account for heating fuel (gas or oil). If you find an account for one fuel type
but not the other, you may need to keep looking.
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com

5. 4. Beware hidden ingredients
Sometimes your energy use isn’t as bad as it seems! You may have too many
accounts assigned to one of your buildings. Double-check check account
information like the “service address” to figure it out.
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com

6. 5. Be sure your energy intensity
is sized juuust right
The EPA has established median energy intensity numbers for a range of building
types. Compare yours. Way too high? Make sure you don’t have any extra accounts.
Way too low? Check for missing fuels.
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com

7. 6. Always check the dates
Some fuels are delivered once a year. Others fuels, like gas and electricity,
get reported more-or-less monthly. Check the dates associated with your data
and make sure you’re not missing any months in your total.
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com

8. 7. Check the source
Still unclear about the makeup of your energy data? Remember to check the source:
Your bill. It should be the foundation for all of your other numbers.
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com

9. 8. Remember:
When it’s bad, it’s still good
So your data is a mess. Don’t panic. Data is like pizza. Even when it’s bad it’s good.
Fixing bad data is a sure-fire way to figure out what drives your energy use.
And once you know, you can do something about it. (And we can help with that.)
Copyright © 2013 Peregrine Energy Group. All rights reserved. www.peregrinegroup.com