ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audit

An ASHRAE Level 2 energy audit, formally called an Energy Survey and Analysis, is the level most commercial buildings actually end up commissioning. It builds directly on the findings of a Level 1 walk through, but replaces rough estimates with engineering grade calculations detailed enough to prioritize real capital planning decisions.

What a Level 2 Audit Includes

A Level 2 audit adds a complete equipment inventory across HVAC, lighting, envelope, and controls, a breakdown of energy use by system and end use, and site measurements or short term data logging where utility data alone isn't enough to isolate a specific system's consumption. For each recommended energy conservation measure, the report includes a defined savings estimate, an implementation cost, and a payback period or return on investment calculation, precise enough to actually support a go or no go capital decision.

Why Level 2 Is the Compliance Default

When a city or state building performance ordinance requires an energy audit, it's almost always specifying Level 2, not Level 1 or Level 3. Level 1 doesn't produce estimates precise enough to satisfy most regulatory requirements, and Level 3 is more rigor, and cost, than a routine compliance audit needs. For a building that needs to satisfy a mandatory audit requirement, a Level 2 study is usually the actual target from the start, rather than something arrived at after a Level 1 screening.

What Level 2 Does Not Include

A Level 2 audit stops short of a full calibrated simulation model and construction grade cost estimates. For most measures, that's sufficient. For the largest, most capital intensive projects, an owner may still want a Level 3 investment grade audit to get to the level of certainty a lender, a board, or an energy performance contract guarantee requires.

Making a Level 2 Audit Worth the Investment

A Level 2 audit is only as useful as the action taken on it afterward. The measures it identifies should feed directly into a capital planning cycle, and the baseline data it establishes should be carried forward into ongoing energy management tracking, rather than filed away once the compliance requirement is satisfied. Increasingly, Level 2 audits also incorporate digital data collection, wireless submetering and remote monitoring in particular, to shorten the field data gathering phase without sacrificing the engineering rigor the level requires.