1. State the result you need
Name the decision, operating problem, reporting requirement, project, or deadline the work must support. Separate mandatory outcomes from useful secondary goals.
Plan a comparable scope
Commercial building energy project scope checklist
Turn a commercial building energy, commissioning, benchmarking, controls, or compliance need into a clearer scope that providers can price and owners can compare.
How to use this guide
Verify the exact scope.
A useful provider comparison starts before proposals arrive. Describe the decision, building, systems, records, deadlines, site work, analysis, deliverables, and follow-up that the engagement must cover. Otherwise, two proposals with the same service label may represent very different work.
This web checklist is a planning aid, not a procurement specification or compliance determination. Use it to organize the information you already have, identify open questions, and ask each provider to state assumptions and exclusions in writing.
Six scope decisions
Give every provider the same starting point.
A consistent starting brief makes differences in method, effort, deliverables, and price easier to understand. Unknown information can remain unknown—label it rather than asking providers to make different assumptions.
2. Describe the building
Provide the address, use, approximate size, occupancy pattern, major renovations, ownership constraints, and any known Washington or Seattle program status that affects the work.
3. Define systems and boundaries
List included buildings, spaces, meters, fuels, HVAC equipment, controls, lighting, water systems, envelope elements, tenant areas, and known exclusions. Ask providers to identify any additional boundary they assume.
4. Inventory records and access
Note available utility data, Portfolio Manager records, drawings, sequences, controls trends, equipment lists, maintenance records, prior studies, staff interviews, and site-access limitations.
5. Specify analysis and deliverables
Ask what field work, testing, calculations, cost sources, savings assumptions, issue tracking, report format, presentation, data files, and compliance documentation are included.
6. Clarify roles after findings
State who reviews findings, answers questions, submits documents, designs or installs improvements, verifies corrections, trains staff, and owns editable files. Price optional later phases separately when practical.
Common questions
Understand the service before comparing firms.
Short answers grounded in public program and federal guidance. The written scope still controls each engagement.
Is a service label enough to compare proposals?
Usually not. Labels such as energy audit, Level 2 audit, commissioning, benchmarking, or controls optimization can still contain different field work, analysis, assumptions, deliverables, and follow-up. Compare the written scope and exclusions.
How should an owner choose between an audit and commissioning?
Begin with the desired result. An audit generally evaluates energy use and opportunities; commissioning investigates and verifies how systems and sequences perform. Some projects need both, but the responsibilities should remain explicit.
What building information is useful before proposals are requested?
Useful starting information can include facility boundaries, energy configuration, utility data, occupancy, equipment and controls information, operating schedules, prior studies, known problems, and the questions the engagement must answer. Missing records should be identified rather than guessed.
Does this checklist determine Washington Clean Buildings compliance?
No. Washington Commerce and the current Clean Buildings standard determine the applicable requirements. Covered-building work can include benchmarking, energy management, operations and maintenance, performance targets, audits, efficiency measures, and reporting depending on the pathway.
Before hiring
Questions worth asking every finalist.
- What exact decision, operating problem, requirement, or deadline must the engagement support?
- Which buildings, systems, records, site visits, interviews, tests, calculations, and meetings are included—and which are excluded?
- What assumptions will the provider make about utility rates, occupancy, schedules, equipment condition, costs, savings, and available data?
- What documents, calculations, editable files, presentations, submissions, issue logs, and implementation priorities will the owner receive?
- Who is responsible for official submissions, design, installation, incentives, measurement and verification, correction verification, training, and ongoing support?
- Which later services are optional, who may provide them, and how will potential conflicts or commercial interests be disclosed?
Primary source
Washington Clean Buildings Tier 1 guidance ↗Confirm the requirement before choosing help.
This directory is independent and cannot determine what a particular building must do.