258
H. E. Otto
Introduction of most energy efficiency measures and instruments in Asia was
oriented towards and derived from their counterparts in the USA. Conditions for
establishing an energy service industry in developing and emerging countries in
Asia always included government support as a first step. This was usually combined
with co-operation with international organizations such as the Global Environmental
Facility (GEF) founded by the United Nations and the World Bank, the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), or the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) (cf. (Murakoshi and Nakagami 2009; Langlois and Hansen 2012;
Panev et al. 2014)). Despite their similarities in structure, the various energy efficiency measures display remarkable differences in their degrees of success. In the
case of China, for example, the energy service industry developed rapidly and by
2012 was a USD 8.25 billion market (cf. (Panev et al. 2014)), while in other countries,
for example in Vietnam, ESCOs are still trying to establish themselves and become
accepted (see (Panev et al. 2014; Pham et al. 2011)).
The services an ESCO provides are usually organized as modules within an energy
project and typically include an energy audit, energy-saving design and engineering,
energy service contracting, project financing, raw material and equipment procurement, construction and installation, operation, training and maintenance, and monitoring and verification (Hansen and Brown 2004). Within the scope of this paper, the
focus will be on the energy audit and one of its immediate explicit results, namely
the energy audit report. An energy audit can be seen as an inspection and analysis
of energy flows in a process, service, or system. Its aim is to reduce the amount
of energy input without negatively affecting the operation, the functionality, or the
output. Hence, an energy audit is a means of determining a customer’s energy usage
profile and energy demand structure, on which basis energy-saving potentials are
proposed and energy conservation measures are evaluated. In the commercial and
industrial sector, various types of energy audit can be identified. These include benchmarking, walk-through / preliminary audits, general audits, and investment-grade
audits. These are all somewhat different from home and residential energy audits,
and they require a different set of skills and expertise. The different types of energy
audit cover a broad spectrum that ranges from quickly identifying major problem
areas (walk-through / preliminary audits) to a comprehensive analysis of the implications of alternative energy efficiency measures deemed sufficient to satisfy the
various criteria of customers and possible investors (general audits and investmentgrade audits), for more details of which see further discussions in (Hansen and Brown
2004; Thumann et al. 2013).
17.3 Scope and Perspective of Approach
An alternative approach to problem framing will, in turn, allow for novel solutions, processes and outcomes related to energy efficiency efforts within the context
outlined earlier. These efforts are related to and interpreted through a knowledgebased perspective. This method not only supports enlargement of the scope of our
H. E. Otto
Introduction of most energy efficiency measures and instruments in Asia was
oriented towards and derived from their counterparts in the USA. Conditions for
establishing an energy service industry in developing and emerging countries in
Asia always included government support as a first step. This was usually combined
with co-operation with international organizations such as the Global Environmental
Facility (GEF) founded by the United Nations and the World Bank, the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), or the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) (cf. (Murakoshi and Nakagami 2009; Langlois and Hansen 2012;
Panev et al. 2014)). Despite their similarities in structure, the various energy efficiency measures display remarkable differences in their degrees of success. In the
case of China, for example, the energy service industry developed rapidly and by
2012 was a USD 8.25 billion market (cf. (Panev et al. 2014)), while in other countries,
for example in Vietnam, ESCOs are still trying to establish themselves and become
accepted (see (Panev et al. 2014; Pham et al. 2011)).
The services an ESCO provides are usually organized as modules within an energy
project and typically include an energy audit, energy-saving design and engineering,
energy service contracting, project financing, raw material and equipment procurement, construction and installation, operation, training and maintenance, and monitoring and verification (Hansen and Brown 2004). Within the scope of this paper, the
focus will be on the energy audit and one of its immediate explicit results, namely
the energy audit report. An energy audit can be seen as an inspection and analysis
of energy flows in a process, service, or system. Its aim is to reduce the amount
of energy input without negatively affecting the operation, the functionality, or the
output. Hence, an energy audit is a means of determining a customer’s energy usage
profile and energy demand structure, on which basis energy-saving potentials are
proposed and energy conservation measures are evaluated. In the commercial and
industrial sector, various types of energy audit can be identified. These include benchmarking, walk-through / preliminary audits, general audits, and investment-grade
audits. These are all somewhat different from home and residential energy audits,
and they require a different set of skills and expertise. The different types of energy
audit cover a broad spectrum that ranges from quickly identifying major problem
areas (walk-through / preliminary audits) to a comprehensive analysis of the implications of alternative energy efficiency measures deemed sufficient to satisfy the
various criteria of customers and possible investors (general audits and investmentgrade audits), for more details of which see further discussions in (Hansen and Brown
2004; Thumann et al. 2013).
17.3 Scope and Perspective of Approach
An alternative approach to problem framing will, in turn, allow for novel solutions, processes and outcomes related to energy efficiency efforts within the context
outlined earlier. These efforts are related to and interpreted through a knowledgebased perspective. This method not only supports enlargement of the scope of our