ENERGY AUDIT PREPARATION CHECKLIST

When to use this checklist: Work through this list as soon as an audit is scheduled — ideally 1–2 weeks before the site visit. Utility data requests, drawing pulls from property management, and scheduling stakeholder interviews routinely take the longest, so those items in Sections 1, 2, and 5 should go out first.

Who should use it: Built for the auditor or engineer leading the engagement, but several items — particularly site access, stakeholder scheduling, and document requests — are easiest to delegate to an administrative coordinator working in parallel while the technical lead focuses on data analysis.

How each item is marked: Plain checkbox — Sections 1–5 gather/obtain items. Check off once requested and received. Status chips (✓ / REQ / N/A) — Section 6 kickoff items only. Mark Have / Requested / N-A during on-site verification.

The foundation of any audit. Without 24–36 months of clean interval data, savings calculations and baseline EUI are guesswork — start here first since utility account access and historical data requests often take the longest to fulfill.

• 1.Electric utility bills — 24 to 36 months, all accounts and meters serving the site
• 2.Natural gas / fuel oil / propane bills — same period, all accounts
• 3.Water and sewer bills — 24 months, including irrigation meters if separately metered
• 4.Interval (15-min or hourly) electric data from the utility or AMI portal, if available
• 5.Utility account numbers, meter numbers, and rate schedule / tariff codes for every account
• 6.Green Button or utility web-portal login credentials, or a signed third-party data-release authorization
• 7.Most recent 12 months of ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking data, if the building participates
• 8.Any demand response, curtailment, or time-of-use program enrollment documentation
• 9.On-site generation or renewable energy production data (PV, CHP, backup generator run hours)
• 10.Prior energy audit reports, retro-commissioning studies, or M&V reports for the same building

Drawings and permits tell you what was built; they rarely tell you what's actually there today. Gather them anyway — they save hours of field measurement and give you a baseline to flag where as-built conditions have likely diverged.

• 11.Architectural floor plans — all levels, current or most recent as-built revision
• 12.Mechanical drawings — equipment schedules, ductwork/piping layouts, and riser diagrams
• 13.Electrical single-line diagrams and panel schedules
• 14.Civil site plan, showing building footprint, parking, and any site utilities
• 15.Roof plan, including age, membrane type, and rooftop equipment locations
• 16.Building square footage by floor and by conditioned vs. unconditioned space
• 17.Year of original construction and dates of any major additions or renovations
• 18.Certificate of occupancy and current use/occupancy classification
• 19.Prior commissioning reports (Cx or RCx) for major mechanical or electrical systems
• 20.Any existing BIM model, CAD files, or digital twin the owner can share

A complete equipment list, gathered before you arrive, turns the on-site visit into a verification exercise instead of a discovery exercise — and tells you which nameplate data you'll need a lift or ladder to confirm in person.

• 21.HVAC equipment schedule — chillers, RTUs, AHUs, boilers, heat pumps, with nameplate capacities
• 22.Cooling tower(s) — make, model, tonnage, and fan/pump motor horsepower
• 23.Pump schedule — chilled water, condenser water, hot water, with horsepower and VFD status
• 24.Lighting fixture inventory and any prior lighting retrofit records (LED conversion %, fixture counts)
• 25.Electrical service size, transformer capacity, and main switchboard/panel ratings
• 26.Building automation system (BAS/EMS) make, model, point list, and remote access availability
• 27.Existing VFD inventory — location, horsepower, and application (fan, pump, compressor)
• 28.Domestic hot water system — fuel type, storage capacity, and recirculation pump details
• 29.On-site generator(s) — fuel type, kW rating, and typical run-hour log if available
• 30.Elevator, escalator, or other major plug-load / process equipment with significant connected load

Energy use only makes sense in the context of how the building is actually used. Schedules and occupancy patterns explain the shape of the utility data you already pulled in Section 1.

• 31.Building operating hours and occupancy schedule, including weekends and holidays
• 32.Current occupant count or population, and any planned changes (growth, downsizing, turnover)
• 33.Process loads or specialty equipment with significant energy use (kitchens, labs, data rooms, etc.)
• 34.Current HVAC setpoints — occupied and unoccupied — and any known setback schedules
• 35.Maintenance staff structure: in-house, contracted, or hybrid, and primary point of contact
• 36.Preventive maintenance program details and most recent PM logs for major equipment
• 37.Known comfort complaints, hot/cold zones, or recurring operational issues
• 38.Any planned capital projects, renovations, or equipment replacements in the next 1–3 years
• 39.Sustainability goals, BPS/BEPS compliance deadlines, or corporate ESG targets tied to the building
• 40.Tenant lease structure (if applicable) — gross, net, or submetered — which affects who benefits from savings

Lining up the right people before the visit — not during it — is what keeps a one-day audit from turning into three trips back to the same building.

• 41.Primary point of contact and decision-maker confirmed, with direct phone/email
• 42.Facility/property manager or chief engineer scheduled for a site-walk interview
• 43.Maintenance technician or operations staff with hands-on equipment knowledge identified
• 44.Site access and parking instructions, including any security check-in or badging process
• 45.Confirmation of access to all mechanical rooms, roof, electrical rooms, and any locked spaces
• 46.PPE or site-specific safety requirements identified in advance (hard hat, hearing protection, etc.)
• 47.Tenant notification process confirmed, if the audit requires access to occupied tenant spaces
• 48.Best date/time window confirmed that avoids peak occupancy disruption or scheduled shutdowns
• 49.Confirmation of who can authorize temporary data logger placement, if planned
• 50.Emergency contact and after-hours access procedure, in case the visit runs long

Before you ever set foot on site, the desktop work above should already be distilled into a one-page profile. This section closes the loop — confirming you're ready to gather, and what to do the moment you arrive.

• 51.One-page desktop energy profile assembled: EUI, fuel mix, load shape, and key building stats✓REQN/A
• 52.Pre-survey baseline metrics calculated — annual kWh/sq ft, therms/sq ft, and cost/sq ft✓REQN/A
• 53.Preliminary ECM hypothesis list drafted from the desktop data, to validate or rule out on-site✓REQN/A
• 54.Audit scope confirmed with client — ASHRAE Level I (walk-through) or Level II (detailed survey)✓REQN/A
• 55.Field tools packed: data loggers, light meter, thermal camera, airflow hood, and laptop/tablet✓REQN/A
• 56.Photo and field-note template loaded, organized to match the equipment inventory from Section 3✓REQN/A
• 57.On arrival: confirm scope and schedule with the site contact before starting the walk-through✓REQN/A
• 58.On arrival: conduct a brief kickoff interview to validate occupancy and operating hours in person✓REQN/A
• 59.On arrival: walk the full envelope and mechanical spaces once before beginning detailed data collection✓REQN/A
• 60.On arrival: flag any immediate safety, life-safety, or code issues observed, separate from the ECM list✓REQN/A