What can be farther apart than ancient Chinese wisdom and modern energy management? Since wisdom is universal, let’s find out.

Ancient Chinese proverb says that road of a thousand miles starts with the first step. We all heard this one. What did Chinese mean by this?

A common Western interpretation of this proverb is that even a long and uncertain road can be walked one step at a time. Seems to be the same as a recommendation to “eat an elephant one bite at a time”. I’s more than that. A deep meaning stands behind the word “first”. The first step can only be made from where one stands now and not from any other place. An attempt to make even a seemingly right first step without a clear understanding of the current position may be inefficient, ineffective, or plain disastrous. It’s like in hockey: even a good shot from the place and time of a short pass leads to waste and disappointment.

How does ancient proverb help modern energy management?

Energy management in industrial environment is a long road with lots of players and variables. Without knowing where company stands in terms of energy consumption, attempting to implement energy efficiency projects may prove to be futile: projects may stall, fail to deliver expected results, or even hurt business. Order and coordination of projects is crucial to efficiency, effectiveness and profitability of the whole company.

Energy Audit is the means to understand the map of efficiency opportunities and company’s current position on it.