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Step 3. Get an Energy Audit

Find the right vendor for your building.

What is an energy audit?

Energy audits provide an assessment of a building’s overall energy use and performance. They identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption and optimize building system and operations performance.

Benefits

An energy audit can provide information about potential energy-use reduction measures and their associated operational cost-saving opportunities. It is a crucial step to making informed decisions about building performance because it can help you understand what energy conservation measures to pursue to achieve your goals.

Energy audits provide a roadmap to:

  1. identify cost-effective solutions that have the greatest impact on reducing energy consumption
  2. enable a building-specific cost analysis of potential options for improvements
  3. facilitate larger internal discussions about how these building improvements fit into other building investments and operational practices

Energy audit levels

There are three types of energy audits, established as industry standards by ASHRAE. They are listed below from simplest to most detailed.

  • Walkthrough Audit (ASHRAE Level I Audit). Provides an initial, cursory walkthrough of the building and its systems and equipment, which is accompanied by a review of a building’s utility bills. It is intended to only provide a high-level overview of no- or low-cost energy savings measures and should be considered a starting point to understanding potential savings opportunities.
  • Detailed Audit (ASHRAE Level II Audit). Provides an analysis to identify measures with greatest energy savings and financial cost-benefit based on a fuel-use analysis alongside interviewing on-site staff.
  • Investment Grade Audit (ASHRAE Level III Audit). Highly detailed engineering analysis of capital-intensive measures alongside financial analysis for potential investments.

BEPS related requirements

Building owners in Washington, DC who are following the Prescriptive Pathway to improve their building’s performance to meet the BEPS must complete a Level 2 energy audit in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 211 and must use DOEE’s Energy Audit Template. See below for auditor credential requirements and review our article on the BEPS Compliance Guidebook for more information.

Interpreting the report

When reviewing an energy audit report, cost effectiveness is the common way to evaluate the findings and determine which actions to take. However, this depends on the goals you are trying to achieve. Some things to consider when reviewing an energy audit report include:

  1. the incentives, funding, and financing options available to fund enhanced building performance improvement projects
  2. the potential non-energy benefits such as the impact on the health and wellness of the building’s occupants
  3. the potential to hire local, small, minority- and/or women-owned vendors to execute the recommendations in the audit report, all of which can positively support your brand and market positioning

Qualifications to look for

There is no one industry standard and there is a wide range of commonly recognized energy auditor credentials. However, for building owners in Washington, DC who are following the Prescriptive Pathway to improve their building’s performance, an energy audit must be conducted by an energy auditor with one of the following credentials:

  • Certified Energy Auditor (CEA) from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE)
  • Certified Energy Manager (CEM) from AEE
  • Building Energy Assessment Professional (BEAP) from ASHRAE
  • High-Performance Building Design Professional (HPBD) from ASHRAE
  • Multifamily Building Analyst (MFBA) from the Building Performance Institute (BPI)

Where to find a vendor

Equity and inclusion factors

  • Select larger firms for investment-grade audits with a strong diversity and inclusion track record.
  • Audits identify project opportunities of varying sizes. Smaller projects, such as single-measure retrofits (e.g. for lighting) or simple upgrades, provide a greater opportunity for small business utilization.

Where to learn more

Review the U.S. Department of Energy’s A Guide to Energy Audits, which outlines what to expect and the audit process, including how to find and hire a vendor.

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