What Happens During an ASHRAE Level 2 Site Visit

The most common question we get from Oregon facilities directors before we sign an engagement is some version of “what’s the actual on-site work look like, and what do we need to do to prepare?” Building owners want to know whether they’re going to lose three days to a guy with a clipboard and a flashlight, or whether the audit is something that happens mostly in the background. The honest answer: it’s somewhere in the middle, and the better the prep, the smoother the visit.

This post walks through what actually happens during the on-site portion of an ASHRAE Level 2 audit for Oregon BPS compliance. No marketing, just the realistic version.

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The Quick Definition

An ASHRAE Level 2 energy audit site visit is the on-site engineering portion of an Oregon BPS-compliant audit, typically running one to two days for a single commercial building. The auditor measures key building system performance, walks the envelope and mechanical systems with the facilities team, and gathers the data needed for energy modeling and life-cycle cost analysis. The visit is one part of a larger four-to-six-week audit process that also includes data review, modeling, and the Form Q compliance report.

Before the Visit: The Prep Sequence

We send a data request 7-14 days before the on-site visit. The faster the building team turns this around, the better the audit. The standard request includes:

1. Two years of utility billing data — Electric, gas, water if metered. PDF or CSV is fine.
2. ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking data — If you’ve already filed with ODOE, this is in your account
3. Building drawings — As-built drawings if available, or current floor plans
4. Mechanical and electrical systems inventory — Equipment lists, schedules, or O&M binders
5. Recent commissioning or retro-commissioning reports (if applicable)
6. Operating schedules — Hours of occupancy, setback strategies, weekend / holiday operation
7. Recent capital project documentation — Anything done in the last 5 years on HVAC, lighting, controls, envelope

Most teams have 60-80% of this. The 20-40% they don’t have is fine — we work around it. But the closer to 100% the better, because gaps in the data drive longer site visit time.

Day One: The Walkthrough

A typical Day 1 looks like this:

Morning: Kickoff and Building Walk

We start with a 30-45 minute kickoff meeting with the facilities lead and any relevant building engineering staff. We confirm scope, walk through what we sent in the data request, and ask any questions about building systems, recent issues, complaints, or known problems. We want to know what’s keeping the facilities team up at night, because those issues are usually a leading indicator of where the energy is going.

After the kickoff we walk the building from envelope inward. Roof inspection. Mechanical penthouse or rooftop equipment inspection. Major mechanical rooms. Electrical rooms. A representative sample of occupied spaces. We’re looking at envelope condition, equipment age and condition, control sequences, and visible operating patterns.

Midday: Systems Deep Dive

We sit down with the building automation system. Most modern commercial buildings have a BAS that gives us trend data on temperatures, equipment runtimes, setpoints, and overrides. Pulling 30-90 days of trend data is one of the highest-value moves of the visit. We’re looking for things like:

• HVAC equipment running outside scheduled hours
• Setpoint creep (occupants overriding the design intent)
• Simultaneous heating and cooling
• Outdoor air economizer issues
• Pump and fan running when they shouldn’t be
• Controls programming that doesn’t match the operating intent

The BAS data often tells us more about real building performance than the on-site measurements.

Afternoon: Targeted Measurement

This is where we actually measure key building system performance with portable instruments. The specific measurements vary by building, but commonly include:

• Light meter readings in representative spaces
• Spot temperature and humidity readings
• Airflow measurements at key supply registers
• Power readings on major mechanical equipment using a clamp meter
• Combustion analysis on boilers and furnaces (if accessible)
• IR camera survey of envelope and equipment for thermal anomalies
• Domestic hot water temperature measurements

The goal isn’t to measure every system. The goal is to ground-truth the data we already have and fill in the gaps. A focused two-hour measurement session usually gives us what we need.

Day Two (If Needed): Detail and Documentation

For buildings under about 75,000 square feet, Day 1 is often enough. For larger buildings, more complex mechanical systems, or buildings with multiple use types under one roof, Day 2 is where we finish. Day 2 typically covers:

• Detailed walkthrough of any mechanical systems we couldn’t fully cover on Day 1
• Photo documentation of equipment nameplates, model numbers, and condition
• Interviews with operations staff about pain points and known issues
• Measurement of any systems that needed off-hours access
• Closeout meeting with the facilities lead to confirm next steps

What the Building Team Has to Do

Realistic version: not much, and most of it can happen via email before the visit.

Task	Time Required
Pull 2 years of utility data	1-2 hours
Send drawings and equipment lists	1 hour
Confirm BAS access and trend data	30 minutes
Day 1 facility staff availability for walkthrough	4-6 hours
Day 2 facility staff availability (if needed)	2-4 hours
Closeout meeting	1 hour

For a typical Oregon commercial building, the on-site time burden on the facilities team is one full day plus a few hours of prep and follow-up.

What Happens After the Visit

The on-site visit is the most visible part of the audit, but it’s a fraction of the total work. After the visit we:

1. Review and clean the measurement and trend data
2. Build a calibrated energy model of the building
3. Identify candidate energy conservation measures
4. Run life-cycle cost analysis on each measure (utility rates, equipment lifespans, maintenance impacts, financing assumptions)
5. Draft the audit report
6. Prepare the Form Q compliance package
7. Review draft with facilities team for accuracy and feasibility
8. Finalize and deliver

That post-visit work typically runs three to five weeks. The full timeline from kickoff to delivered report is usually four to six weeks.

Common Questions We Get During Visits

“Do we need to shut anything down for you to measure it?” Almost never. The measurements are non-invasive. Combustion analysis on a boiler may require a brief equipment access window, but no production-disrupting shutdowns.

“Can we do this off hours?” Yes, and sometimes we recommend it for occupied office buildings. Off-hours visits work especially well for retail and hospitality properties where occupied space can’t easily be disturbed.

“What if we have areas we don’t want documented in detail?” Tell us upfront. Tenant security areas, server rooms with restricted access, and confidential R&D spaces all get handled differently. We work around them.

“Do you need building access to every space?” Not every space, but a representative sample of every space type. A building with 200 identical hotel rooms doesn’t need 200 room inspections — a sample of 5-10 across different floors and orientations is usually enough.

The Realistic Outcome

By the end of the on-site visit, the audit team has the information needed to model the building, identify the highest-value energy conservation measures, run the life-cycle cost analysis, and prepare a Form Q compliance report that satisfies Oregon BPS requirements under ORS 330-300. The facilities team has lost a day, gained a useful set of operating insights, and is on track for compliance.

If you want a flat quote for an audit on your specific building, email Mike at vanvicklebros@gmail.com with the address, square footage, and primary use category. For more on the broader compliance picture, see our 2026 BPS action checklist. For city-specific information, see Portland BPS compliance or Bend BPS compliance.