Benchmarking and data cleanup
Start here when the immediate need is ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager setup, utility-data access, building-detail corrections, annual reporting, or a reliable energy-use baseline.
Choose the right starting point
Energy audit, commissioning, tune-up, benchmarking, or controls help?
Understand the practical difference between energy audits, commissioning, building tune-ups, benchmarking, controls work, and operations planning before contacting providers.
How to use this guide
Verify the exact scope.
Building-performance services overlap, but they do not solve the same problem. An energy audit can identify and evaluate opportunities; commissioning can investigate how systems actually operate; benchmarking organizes energy-use data; a tune-up follows a defined operations-focused process; and controls or HVAC work may be the direct path when the problem is already known.
Start with the decision or problem in front of you. Then describe the building, deadline, systems, available records, and result you need. A provider can propose a more useful scope when the desired outcome is clearer than a technical label.
Service decision guide
Match the service to the result you need.
These categories are starting points, not rigid boundaries. A project may need more than one service, but each proposal should state which problem it addresses, what work is included, and what the owner receives.
Commercial energy audit
Use an audit when you need a building-wide opportunity assessment, energy and cost analysis, compliance-supporting documentation, or a prioritized capital and operating plan.
Commissioning or EBCx
Use commissioning when equipment, controls, sequences, or system interactions may not be performing as intended and you need investigation, testing, issue tracking, and verification.
Seattle Building Tune-Up
Use a tune-up provider when a Seattle requirement or a defined operations-and-maintenance review is driving the work. Confirm the building cycle, systems, corrections, and reporting responsibility.
Controls, HVAC, or implementation
Go directly to a technical or implementation specialist when the affected system or project is already known and the need is design, repair, integration, replacement, optimization, or ongoing service.
Operations and maintenance planning
Start with O&M planning when the building needs repeatable procedures, roles, schedules, documentation, training, or an energy-management process that staff can maintain.
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 an energy audit the same as commissioning?
No. An energy audit generally identifies and evaluates energy-saving opportunities. Commissioning investigates and verifies how building systems and operating sequences perform. A building can benefit from both, but the written scopes should separate the responsibilities and deliverables.
Is Seattle benchmarking the same as a Building Tune-Up?
No. Benchmarking is the annual process of measuring and reporting building energy use. Seattle Building Tune-Ups use a defined process to assess and correct building operations and maintenance issues.
Can one provider perform several of these services?
Yes. Some firms publish several connected capabilities, while others specialize narrowly. Ask which tasks are performed directly, which are subcontracted, how independence is handled, and whether later design or construction is optional.
Which service completes Washington Clean Buildings compliance?
There is no single answer for every building. The required pathway can involve benchmarking, energy-management and operations documents, audits, reporting, exemptions, or efficiency measures. Confirm the building’s requirements with Washington Commerce before selecting a provider scope.
Before hiring
Questions worth asking every finalist.
- What decision, deadline, operating problem, or project should this engagement resolve?
- Which building systems, records, site work, calculations, testing, corrections, and follow-up are included or excluded?
- What will the owner receive, who prepares any required submission, and what remains the owner’s responsibility?
- Does the provider also sell, design, install, or maintain recommended improvements, and are those later services optional?
- How will findings, assumptions, unresolved issues, and completion be documented for the owner and operating team?
Primary source
Washington Clean Buildings program ↗Confirm the requirement before choosing help.
This directory is independent and cannot determine what a particular building must do.