ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audit Checklist

Level 2 energy audits offer more in-depth analyses of potential capital-intensive modifications, helping businesses understand both costs and benefits associated with such projects.

Beginning with an initial walk-through and energy use analysis, then moving onto an extensive engineering review of all building systems, this service includes everything necessary for success.

1. Equipment List & Catalogue
ASHRAE Level 1 energy audits offer a broad overview of commercial facilities’ operations and energy use, highlighting inefficient areas while making recommendations for no or low-cost changes. In addition, they help businesses decide whether further engineering analysis for capital projects should be pursued.

An ASHRAE Level 2 audit expands on the knowledge gleaned from a Level 1 audit through further field gathering, monitoring equipment performance using building automation or data loggers, engineering analysis of potential changes, and often including simulation of the building model to compare operating parameters before and after proposed energy efficiency measures or major capital improvements have been implemented.

This will enable the business to understand how it can increase operational efficiency and identify which investments it could afford.

2. Equipment Condition
At this level, an energy auditor performs an evaluation of equipment condition such as HVAC and lighting systems, domestic hot water supplies and plug loads to identify energy-saving opportunities with low costs and rapid payback periods.

At this level, ASHRAE 211’s preliminary energy use analysis (also referred to as walk-through analysis) compares buildings similar to each other to identify efficiency opportunities and assess whether further evaluation is required. It serves as an integral step in understanding a building’s performance as well as deciding if further investigation or testing are required.

3. Low-Cost/No-Cost EEMs
ASHRAE Level 1 audits, also referred to as walk-through analyses, offer a first assessment of potential energy efficiency measures. They typically consist of reviewing utility bills and operating data; interviewing facility staff; and conducting a brief walk-through survey of the building.

An intensive ASHRAE Level 2 energy audit typically entails reviewing equipment and system specifications, conducting on-site surveys of the building and its operations, performing detailed analysis on low/no cost EEMs with savings/cost information associated with them, ranking and prioritizing them by savings/cost ratio and rough pay-back periods, financial evaluation of capital projects as well as hourly simulations for HVAC measurements as part of life cycle cost assessments along with scoping of works/schematics.

An intensive ASHRAE Level 3 energy audit, also referred to as an Investment Grade Audit (IGA), offers additional engineering rigor for more costly capital projects and more accurate financial analysis. An IGA is ideal for facilities considering major changes to their infrastructure who need the necessary data in order to make informed investment decisions.

4. Capital EEMs
Level 2 audits involve reviewing utility bills to see if there is a better rate available and interviewing building personnel about how a facility operates, providing insight for an energy engineer to identify low-cost or no-cost energy efficiency measures (EEMs).

Level-2 audits often reveal EEMs that require substantial capital expenditures and intensive engineering analysis before their owners are ready to invest in them. Such projects often include long-term energy price forecasting as well as life cycle cost calculations.

ASHRAE Level-3 assessment (commonly known as an “investment-grade”) requires more extensive data collection over weeks or months, such as trend logs for pumps and motors, temperatures in affected spaces, lighting levels and switching behavior; it also involves conducting more in-depth whole-building computer simulations that model potential energy-saving projects with major capital investment.

5. M&V Recommendations
ASHRAE defines four levels of energy audits, each distinguished by their level of engineering rigor and time spent on-site. A Level 1 audit typically involves low-level analysis to identify no-cost or low-cost energy efficiency measures (EEMs).

A level-2 energy audit builds upon the findings of a level-1 audit to analyze building energy systems for potential energy-efficiency enhancements, including studies of building envelope, lighting, HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning), domestic hot water (DHW), plug loads and compressed air systems.

Level-2 audits include an in-depth examination of historical utility data and equipment specifications, facility benchmarking, energy conservation measures identification surveys conducted onsite to identify more comprehensive energy conservation measures, financial analysis conducted to identify capital cost projects with energy savings potential, rough estimates for energy savings and payback periods as well as rough estimations for savings/payback periods.