Energy costs represent a significant and often poorly controlled share of total operating costs for industrial facilities — typically ranging from 10% to 25% of production costs in energy-intensive sectors. Yet most companies lack the detailed, system-level understanding of their energy consumption patterns needed to identify and prioritize the improvements that would reduce those costs most effectively. An energy audit is the systematic, engineering-based process of measuring, analyzing, and understanding energy flows across a facility — it is the essential first step for any serious energy efficiency or carbon reduction program.