Energy Consultancy Services for Organisations & Estates

Energy consultants help organisations reduce energy costs, improve building performance, achieve compliance with regulations, and develop strategies to reach net-zero carbon emissions. The work spans from technical assessments to strategic planning:

Compliance and regulatory support: Energy consultants ensure businesses meet mandatory requirements like ESOS (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme), SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting), Climate Change Agreements, ISO50001 energy management standards, and MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards). This includes data collection, analysis, report preparation, and submission to relevant authorities.

Energy auditing and assessment: Consultants conduct detailed surveys of buildings, equipment, and processes to understand energy consumption patterns. This includes analysing utility data, conducting walkthrough surveys, thermal imaging, HVAC system assessments, and identifying where energy is being used inefficiently.

Identifying savings opportunities: Through technical analysis, consultants identify practical measures to reduce energy consumption—from quick wins like BEMs optimization and lighting controls to capital projects like heat pump installations, insulation improvements, and renewable energy systems. Each opportunity is evaluated for cost, savings potential, and payback period.

Net-zero and decarbonisation strategy: Consultants develop roadmaps to help organizations reach net-zero carbon emissions. This includes heat decarbonisation strategies (transitioning from gas to heat pumps or heat networks), renewable energy feasibility studies, process efficiency improvements, and transport electrification planning—all aligned with budget constraints and business priorities.

Building performance optimization: Beyond one-off assessments, consultants help improve ongoing building performance through BEMs optimization, HVAC system tuning, control strategy improvements, and energy monitoring frameworks that deliver sustained savings over time.

Grant funding and investment support: Many consultants help clients access government funding schemes, prepare business cases for capital investment, and demonstrate ROI to secure board approval for energy projects.

How Zerith does it differently:

Traditional energy consultants take your data, conduct analysis independently, and deliver reports with recommendations—often at high cost and with lengthy timelines. Your team remains on the sidelines.

Zerith empowers your internal teams to lead this work themselves using our AI-enabled platform, with our expert training and support. You build permanent capability, achieve 30-70% cost savings, and retain the institutional knowledge that external consultants typically take with them when they leave.

The outcome: Energy consultants provide the technical expertise and strategic guidance to help organizations reduce costs, meet compliance obligations, and transition to low-carbon operations. How that expertise is delivered—and whether it builds your capability or creates dependency—is what differentiates consultancies.

Energy consultancy costs vary significantly depending on the scope of work, building complexity, and the consultancy model used. Here's what to expect across different service types:

Compliance schemes (traditional consultancy model): ESOS Phase 3 assessments typically cost £3,000-£8,000 for single-site organizations, rising to £15,000-£60,000+ for multi-site portfolios depending on complexity and number of assets. SECR compliance support ranges from £2,000-£6,000 annually. ISO50001 certification projects cost £8,000-£25,000 depending on organizational size. Climate Change Agreement support typically costs £3,000-£10,000 per agreement period.

Energy audits and surveys: Basic energy audits for single buildings cost £2,000-£5,000. Comprehensive Level 2 audits with detailed analysis range from £5,000-£15,000 per building. HVAC-specific assessments cost £3,000-£8,000. Thermal imaging surveys range from £1,500-£4,000. Investment-grade audits for capital projects can cost £10,000-£30,000+ depending on technical complexity.

Net-zero and decarbonisation strategies: Heat decarbonisation feasibility studies typically cost £8,000-£20,000 for single sites, rising to £30,000-£100,000+ for complex multi-site portfolios. Comprehensive net-zero pathway development ranges from £15,000-£50,000 depending on scope. MEES compliance strategies for property portfolios cost £5,000-£25,000 depending on asset numbers and complexity.

Building performance services: BEMs optimization projects range from £5,000-£15,000. Ongoing energy management support typically costs £2,000-£8,000 per month on retainer. Renewables feasibility studies (solar PV, heat pumps) cost £3,000-£12,000 depending on system size and complexity.

The Zerith difference:

Our AI-enabled platform fundamentally changes the cost equation. For compliance schemes (ESOS, SECR, CCA, ISO50001), we empower your team to self-deliver with our platform, training, and support—delivering 30-70% cost savings compared to traditional consultancy rates.

For example, an ESOS assessment that would traditionally cost £25,000 might cost £7,500-£17,500 through our platform approach, while simultaneously building your team's capability to manage future compliance cycles independently. The savings compound over time as your internal expertise grows.

For clients preferring more hands-on support, we offer traditional consulting delivery at competitive rates while simultaneously embedding skills within your team—creating a pathway to platform-based delivery in future cycles.

Typical Zerith pricing: Platform-enabled compliance delivery: 30-70% below traditional consultancy rates. Energy audits and technical assessments: competitive market rates with team training included. Consultation surgeries: £100/hour for focused expert guidance (refunded if leading to larger engagement). All pricing is transparent and project-specific based on your requirements.

The reality: Traditional consultancy can be expensive because you're paying for external expertise to do work your team could lead with the right tools and training. We reduce costs by building your capability rather than creating dependency—meaning every pound invested delivers both immediate value and long-term organizational strength.

What is ESOS compliance?

ESOS (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme) is a mandatory UK energy assessment scheme designed to help large organizations identify cost-effective energy saving opportunities and improve energy efficiency.

Who must comply:

ESOS applies to large undertakings and their corporate groups operating in the UK. You must comply if your organization meets any of these criteria: employs 250 or more people, has an annual turnover exceeding €50 million and a balance sheet exceeding €43 million, or is part of a corporate group that meets these thresholds collectively. Public sector and charitable organizations are exempt.

What compliance involves:

Organizations must conduct comprehensive energy assessments covering at least 95% of their total energy consumption across buildings, industrial processes, and transport. This includes measuring total energy consumption, identifying areas of significant energy use, calculating energy intensity metrics, and identifying cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption. A board-level director must review and sign off the assessment, and compliance evidence must be submitted to the Environment Agency.

ESOS operates in four-year cycles:

Phase 1 compliance deadline was December 5, 2015. Phase 2 deadline was December 5, 2019. Phase 3 deadline was June 5, 2023 (extended from December 2023). Phase 4 compliance is due by June 5, 2027. Organizations must demonstrate compliance in each phase, with assessments covering the previous four-year period.

Assessment requirements:

ESOS assessments must be conducted or reviewed by an approved Lead Assessor. The assessment must cover all energy supplies (electricity, gas, transport fuels) and significant energy consumption areas. Organizations can use energy audits, alternative compliance routes like ISO50001 certification or Display Energy Certificates (DECs), or a combination approach. The assessment must identify energy-saving recommendations with estimated costs, savings potential, and payback periods.

Compliance costs and penalties:

Traditional ESOS compliance through external consultants typically costs £3,000-£60,000+ depending on organizational complexity and number of sites. Non-compliance can result in civil penalties, publication of non-compliance on a public register, and enforcement notices from the Environment Agency. Directors who fail to take reasonable steps to comply can be personally liable.

The Zerith approach to ESOS:

Rather than paying external consultants to conduct assessments while excluding your team's operational knowledge, our AI-enabled platform empowers your internal teams to lead ESOS delivery with our expert support and Lead Assessor oversight.

Your staff—who understand your buildings, equipment, and processes—input the data and identify opportunities. Our platform structures the information to meet ESOS requirements. Our Lead Assessors provide training, quality assurance, and final sign-off. You achieve 30-70% cost savings compared to traditional consultancy while building permanent capability for future ESOS cycles.

Key benefits of ESOS compliance:

Beyond avoiding penalties, ESOS helps organizations identify significant cost savings (typical assessments find 10-30% reduction opportunities), understand energy consumption patterns across their estate, prioritize capital investment in energy efficiency, demonstrate commitment to sustainability, and build internal capability in energy management.

The bottom line: ESOS is mandatory for large UK organizations every four years. It requires comprehensive energy assessment, board-level sign-off, and submission to regulators. How you deliver compliance—whether outsourcing to expensive consultants or empowering your team with the right tools—determines both cost and long-term value.

Yes—and Zerith is specifically designed to make this possible wherever appropriate.

The traditional consultancy problem:

Most energy consultants operate on a dependency model. They position all energy work as complex and technical, requiring expensive external expertise. They exclude your team from the process, deliver reports, and build zero internal capability. When the next compliance cycle or energy challenge arrives, you're dependent on hiring them again.

The Zerith difference:

We believe your teams should lead wherever possible, with our support, training, and specialist expertise supplementing their work—not replacing it.

What can be delivered in-house with our support:

High in-house potential (70-90% internal delivery):

• Compliance schemes (ESOS, SECR, CCA, ISO50001) - Your team inputs data, conducts surveys, and identifies opportunities using our AI platform. We provide training, frameworks, quality assurance, and Lead Assessor sign-off where required.

• Building performance monitoring - Your team tracks consumption, identifies anomalies, and manages ongoing performance. We provide initial setup, training, and periodic expert reviews.

Medium in-house potential (50-70% internal delivery):

• Energy auditing - Your team conducts walkthroughs, collects data, and identifies obvious opportunities. We provide structured templates, technical tools, and validation of findings.

• MEES compliance planning - Your team assesses EPC ratings and tracks deadlines. We provide regulatory expertise and improvement strategies.

Requires specialist Zerith expertise:

• Net-zero strategy development - Complex carbon accounting, technology selection, and pathway modelling require specialist knowledge.

• HVAC optimization - Deep technical expertise in system design, controls programming, and performance analysis.

• BEMs optimization - Specialist platform knowledge, control algorithms, and programming expertise.

• Heat decarbonisation feasibility - Specialized engineering for heat pumps, district heating, and process heat solutions.

• Renewables integration - Technical expertise in solar PV, wind, grid connection, and financial modelling.

Your team provides essential operational context and site knowledge for specialist work, but our consultants lead the technical analysis and design.

How it works:

1. We train your team on relevant methodologies and provide access to our AI platform for applicable services

2. Your team leads the work using our frameworks and tools, with our technical support when needed

3. We provide quality assurance and accredited sign-off where regulations require it

4. Your capability grows - each cycle requires less external support as your expertise builds

The cost impact:

Traditional full outsourcing: £15,000-£100,000+ with zero capability building

Zerith's empowerment model: 30-70% cost savings with your team leading and learning

By the second or third cycle, costs decrease further as your internal capability reduces support needs.

The bottom line:

Compliance, basic auditing, and monitoring can largely be delivered in-house with proper frameworks and training. Specialist technical work (net-zero strategy, HVAC, BEMs, heat decarbonisation, renewables) genuinely requires expert consultants.

Most consultancies won't tell you the difference because their business model depends on you not knowing. We're transparent about what you can do yourself with the right support versus what truly needs specialist expertise.

You engage us for what you genuinely need, not for what you could handle in-house with proper tools and training.