Whether you've made a switch to reduce your monthly energy bills, need to have off-grid power in case of an emergency or are invested in getting more alternative energy into the world, do you know what the value of that equipment is worth? An alternative energy asset valuation helps you stay on top of your equipment values, but what kind of equipment is covered during the process? Here's a quick overview to help you get started.

What Equipment is Covered in an Alternative Energy Asset Valuation?

• Solar PV Panels: Photovoltaic (PV) panels are an interesting accounting conundrum, because of their extremely long lifespan. Rated to last 50 years or more, PV panels are often completely written off the books in terms of value within a matter of years, because of how tax agency depreciation works. However, that doesn't mean that the PV panels no longer have any value! Having these panels appraised provides you with a solid idea of what they're worth, even a decade or three after they've been installed.
• Wind Turbines: Unlike PV panels, wind turbines have mechanical systems that can wear out over time. Depending on the amount of use they receive, how much of a beating they take from storms and the overall quality of materials and design, they may still last for a very long time and should be appraised to determine both their expected remaining useful lifespan and their value. This will help you decide at what point these machines should be replaced.
• Hydroelectric Turbines: Unlike wind, hydroelectric turbines typically operate under a steady amount of production, with no sudden increases or decreases in terms of flow, productivity and load. This makes this type of equipment last a very long time, with some Scottish hydroelectric turbines being over a century old! For that reason, much like PV panels, it's important to have their value determined, as they'll continue to have value long after they've been fully depreciated.
• Generators: Though the other assets we've discussed have been renewable energy, generators are not. When you need to have constant electrical service, such as at a medical facility, secure location or similar situation, a backup generator is commonly used to provide the additional power. They may also be installed to provide a backup for renewable energy systems during times of poor energy production. Generators will age and wear, so having an equipment appraisal performed ensures you know their condition and current value.
• Transformers, Chargers and Similar Equipment: Unlike standard line power, alternative energy systems have a wide range of additional equipment to operate successfully. This can include voltage transformers to step power up or down, inverters that change the system's direct-current power to alternating-current 120V or 240V standard single-phase power, chargers for battery banks and a range of other necessary equipment.

Having an alternative energy asset valuation performed on your equipment makes it much easier to deal with insurance claims, incorrect tax assessments and a range of other potential situations you may face. However, it's important to make sure that you're getting a valuation from an independent accredited equipment valuation specialist who has no interest in the outcome of the appraisal, as that will ensure that you're receiving an accurate estimate of value for your alternative energy assets.

Whether your business specializes in medical testing or simply has diagnostic equipment as a part of your overall operation, the value of those assets can make up a large portion of your balance sheet. At the same time, it's not uncommon to quickly depreciate the value of that machinery using tax tables, which reduces the value of that equipment on paper. What is the equipment actually worth? A medical lab diagnostic testing equipment appraisal can give you important insights into the value of your diagnostic equipment.

What's Involved in Valuing Medical Lab Diagnostic Testing Equipment?

But how does the valuation process work when it comes to diagnostic equipment? To start, your equipment appraiser will need to know some basic information. They'll need to know the manufacturer and model number of each piece of equipment you'd like to have appraised. They'll need to know if you've had any options or kits added to it, or other work that would modify the equipment, such as adding a heavier-duty table to your MRI to handle obese patients. They'll want to know how often the machinery has been used and how much wear and tear it's received over the years due to poor usage practices. The appraiser will need to see any maintenance and repair records for the equipment to ensure that it's being cared for properly and that any problems are being addressed quickly, before any other damage can occur.

Once this has been done, they'll take the information that they've collected and compare it against a number of different information sources. They'll take a look at what that specific piece of equipment has been sold for recently on the open market. The appraiser will make adjustments to account for your equipment's condition and the remaining expected useful lifespan. They may even take a look at your industry as a whole and determine whether that specific equipment is still in demand or if it's giving way to better technology.

After this information is gathered, the equipment appraiser will calculate the equipment's value using a number of methodologies that have been tested in a range of professional circles, including insurance, tax, financial and legal circumstances. This value looks at the equipment's original value, any amendments that have been made to it that may increase or decrease value, its expected remaining useful lifespan, demand for that piece of equipment on the open market, any damage or unrepaired issues that are still outstanding that will negatively impact the equipment's value and similar issues. This information, along with the final value calculation, is assembled into a professional report.

By having an appraisal performed on your medical lab diagnostic testing equipment, you can ensure that you're taking full advantage of your business' assets when the opportunity for growth presents itself. But don't take the word of your local equipment sales rep or another party who has a vested interest in that value. Instead, consider having an independent third-party appraiser value your machinery. By working with an accredited equipment valuation specialist, you can ensure that the valuation report you receive will reflect an accurate estimate of the equipment's value, not an over- or under-estimation designed to help the appraiser sell more of their equipment.

When you're in the oil and gas safety business, you know that you need to run a tight ship to keep operating profitably while the market is hot. But have you considered the assets you have and how they can impact your business' ability to compete? One aspect category that is commonly overlooked is safety equipment. Your clients need to make sure that you've got it on-site just in case, but what is it really worth and can you leverage that value to improve your business? Here's a quick look at how a rig site safety asset appraisal can help protect your company's bottom line.

How Rig Site Safety Asset Appraisal Protects Your Business's Bottom Line

To start, you'll want to consider what kind of equipment you should have appraised:

• Cargo vans or trucks: To get your equipment from point A to point B, you need vehicles capable of hauling it, whether it's to get the equipment on-site or to restock medical packs and air bottles that have been used up over time.
• Portable showers: Oil and gas rigs equal dirty work, in terms of dust, grime and sweat as well as chemical treatments that are used on-site during drilling operations. Portable showers are vital to your customers and may take a beating by the roughnecks using them.
• Heating or cooling trailers: It's fairly common for drilling to happen in some of the most extreme environments on the planet. Whether it's burning heat or freezing cold, trailers protect crew members from exposure injuries and are a valuable asset.
• Gas sensors and monitors: If your gas sensors or monitors aren't functioning properly or are getting old, they may not provide the protection they're supposed to for your clients. 
• Fire suppression equipment: A fire on a drilling rig is an oil or gas company's worst nightmare. Your fire suppression equipment is priceless at that point, but what's it worth the rest of the time?

However, there are other types of equipment that you should also have appraised that you may not have considered. This includes: 

• Emergency medical packs: These small but vital packs provide important medical supplies in a timely manner. Because they're required in so many locations, their value builds up.
• Personal protective equipment: Safety harnesses, hearing protection, safety glasses, respirators: all of these items keep workers safe on the job and add up to a large portion of your inventory.
• Oxygen masks and air bottles: These grab-and-go items provide much-needed oxygen during an evacuation, but must be regularly checked, refilled and replaced if malfunctioning.
• Signs: Where's the emergency exit? Can someone grab the defibrillator? What about OSHA regulations? Without signs, the workplace becomes that much harder to navigate.

By taking the time to have a rig site safety asset appraisal performed on your gas and oil safety business' equipment, you can ensure your accounting books are up to date, your equipment is in good condition and you can leverage every possible asset when you need fast growth. However, that appraisal is only as good as the person making the calculations. Make sure that you have your equipment appraisal performed by an accredited equipment appraiser who doesn't have any interest in the final result and can provide you with an independent estimate of your equipment using tested methodologies that will hold up in legal, financial, tax and insurance issues.

Whether you're in logistics, manufacturing, shipping, construction, agriculture or some other industry that requires the movement of large equipment and quantities of material, the assets that you use to move those items are of paramount importance to your business. What would you do if those vital resources weren't available? If you think that your business insurance would cover losses, you're right, but at what cost? By knowing the value of your trailer fleet, you can improve your chances of getting a fast, favorable resolution to a number of potential issues. A commercial trailer fleet appraisal provides you with the information you need to leverage those assets to your company's benefit. Here's more about the different types of commercial trailers available on the market and how they're appraised.

What Type of Commercial Trailer Fleet Appraisal is Available?

Let's start by looking at some of the differences between commonly-available types of commercial trailers:

• Box trailers are one of the most common types of trailers, consisting of a box that is permanently affixed to the base. This type of trailer provides protection to the materials or goods being transported.
• Grain trailers contain special valves underneath the trailer that can be opened to allow grain or other dry food materials such as soybeans, to flow out at the grain mill, allowing for easy unloading.
• Tanker trailers carry a wide range of liquids and gasses, such as diesel fuel, milk, anhydrous ammonia and similar materials. They must maintain a strong, sealed compartment to avoid contamination.
• Livestock trailers allow stock to be moved from the farm to the feedlot to the processing center. They are ventilated to allow for fresh air to be circulated to the livestock and are often sized to specific species of animals.
• Refrigerated trailers are insulated and have separate climate control systems and on-board fuel supplies for those systems. This allows refrigerated or frozen food to be safely transported between locations.
• Flatbed trailers provide easy options for loading and unloading, as forklifts can simply place or remove pallets of material from the trailer. They do not provide a great deal of protection to the materials they are hauling.
• Vehicle trailers are designed to allow a number of vehicles to be hauled by a single semi, with an assortment of hydraulic rams in place to raise and lower different decks during loading and unloading.
• Equipment trailers are specifically created to carry heavy machinery, such as backhoes, bulldozers and other equipment. It's designed both for the heavy weight of the equipment as well as the bulky size of the machinery.
• Cargo trailers are designed to be fitted with cargo containers from shipping, whether by ship or rail. This type of trailer allows goods to be transported without additional handling of the material inside, lowering overall logistics costs.

By having a commercial trailer fleet appraisal performed on your company's assets, you'll have documentation of value for a wide range of purposes. However, to gain the most benefit from your appraisal, you'll want to make sure that the process is carried out by an accredited equipment appraisal specialist. The methodologies used by accredited appraisers have been tested over and over again in legal, financial, insurance and tax circles, providing you with a solid estimate of value that is free from outside influences.

With the changes in today's culture to focus on sustainability, recycling has become a hot business. From LEED construction credits for materials that contain recycled content in them to initiatives to reduce waste in municipalities, recycling businesses are seeing significant growth. But what is the value of that recycling company? A recycling facility asset appraisal can help your business flourish, providing you with information on the value of your equipment. But what equipment is evaluated during the appraisal process and how is it valued? Here's a quick look at the equipment and process involved.

What Equipment is Evaluated in a Recycling Facility Asset Appraisal?

• Conveyance equipment: To move your recyclables from one location to another within your facility and to make it easier to load these items for shipping or processing, the equipment that conveys your items around is of vital importance to your business' success. Conveyor belts, hoppers and similar equipment are appraised based on its condition, demand for that equipment in the market and similar aspects that will impact the equipment's value in the market. 
• Material handling equipment: Beyond simple conveyance, some material must be handled with other equipment. This can include a range of items, such as pallet jacks, forklifts, loaders and similar machinery, which is used to haul and load bales, hoppers, pallets and other types of storage for the material you're recycling. This type of machinery can often be used in other industries, therefore the equipment's value can be influenced by its popularity in those industries, so understanding the factors that can influence that value is of vital importance to the financial health of your business.
• Sorting equipment: To keep your operation running efficiently, you need sorting equipment that will quickly and effectively sort one type of recyclable from another, which can happen based on weight, type of content and similar properties so that you can get those recyclables to market with very little contamination in your batches. The accuracy with which this type of equipment can sort materials, the condition of the equipment and the amount of material it can handle within a set period of time can all impact the overall appraised value of the equipment as demand for that machinery and the recyclables it sorts rises and falls.
• Packaging equipment: The machinery that packages your equipment into larger quantities and makes it easier to handle, load and transport helps keep recyclables moving throughout your facility. Balers, compactors and related machinery are a vital part of your business, the loss of which can create serious problems for your company. Though these pieces of equipment can be used in other industries, some are too specialized for use outside the recycling industry, so understanding which types of equipment can be used in which situations is important to determining the value of the machinery.

By having a recycling facility asset appraisal performed, it provides you with solid information about the value of your business' equipment assets. However, it's of vital importance that the valuation is performed by an accredited equipment appraiser, because doing so ensures that the valuation that is calculated is free of other influences. An accredited equipment appraiser is able to provide you with an independent third-party opinion on the value of your equipment, without being interested in the outcome of that valuation.