Multifamily Energy Assessment for 3+ Unit Buildings

The visit is planned around the property, occupancy, safety conditions, and program requirements. It can include an envelope walkthrough, mechanical-system review, comfort-history discussion, utility-data review, and diagnostic testing when appropriate.

When blower-door testing is included, a calibrated fan can be used to measure air leakage at a standard reference pressure. When thermal imaging is appropriate, it can help document temperature patterns and possible problem areas. The written report identifies what was actually inspected or tested, so the property record does not imply that every diagnostic was performed on every building.

• Blower-door testing when appropriate, with the method and result documented
• Thermal imaging when conditions and the approved scope make it useful
• Envelope walkthrough: attic and roof assemblies, rim joists, basement and crawl space, chases, corridors, and unit-to-common-area separations
• Mechanical review: heating plant, distribution, ventilation, and domestic hot water
• Twelve months of gas and electric consumption, from your billing history or from a signed release to the utility
• What your maintenance staff and residents already report, by unit and by exposure

This is usually the first question a property manager asks, because a disruptive visit creates complaints that outlast the report.

The visit and any diagnostic testing are planned with the property contact before the appointment. If blower-door testing is included, the fan occupies an exterior doorway for part of the visit and can be audible nearby. The exact access, safety steps, and resident instructions depend on the building and test plan.

The assessment scope identifies which common areas and units need access. Any sampling plan is agreed with your property contact beforehand, so notice goes out on your schedule and in your format.

The deliverable is a written report, not a verbal summary at the door.

It records the measured leakage rate, thermal images tied to locations, the envelope and mechanical conditions observed, and a prioritized list of improvements. Prioritized matters more than comprehensive. Any older building generates a long list of things that could be done, so the report is ordered by what changes the building most for what it costs. A board can approve the top of the list and defer the rest without guessing.

The report also names the utility programs that apply at your service address and the measures your building appears to fit. It stops short of declaring final eligibility, because a document cannot make that decision. Program rules, the utility serving the address, and the program administrator's own review decide that.

• Diagnostic results documented when testing is included in the approved scope
• Thermal images with the location of each finding
• Envelope and mechanical conditions observed, organized by area
• A prioritized improvement list, ordered by impact against cost
• The utility programs that apply at your service address and the measures your building appears to fit
• Written to be handed to people who were not on site, including a board or an asset manager

Access is the big one. Attic hatches, roof access, basement and crawl space, the mechanical room, and locked common areas need to be open, or someone with keys walks with the analyst. A named property contact who can answer questions in real time is worth more than any document.

Twelve months of utility billing history, or a signed release so consumption data can be pulled from the utility, shows how the building actually performs across a heating season. A unit list with floors and exposures lets us pick a representative sample rather than a convenient one.

On income-qualified program paths, eligibility is generally based on resident income rather than owner income, and the program specifies what documentation it requires. We tell you what the current program asks for before you start collecting anything.

• Access to attics, roof, basement or crawl space, mechanical rooms, and locked common areas
• A named property contact who can walk the building with the analyst
• Twelve months of utility billing history, or a signed release to pull consumption data
• A unit list with floors and exposures, so the sample is representative
• Tenant notice for the sampled units, sent by your team in your own format
• Program-specified income documentation, on income-qualified paths only

Illinois utility programs generally require pre-approval before work starts. Work performed first and submitted afterward can be rejected. The assessment supports the pre-approval package with the existing conditions, proposed measures, and quantities available for the property.

The paperwork. We file it. From pre-approval through final submission we handle the program documentation on the projects we perform. We are authorized for ComEd, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, and North Shore Gas programs. Program names identify who we work with. They are not an endorsement, and they do not decide whether a given property qualifies.

Closeout documentation follows the approved scope and applicable program requirements. When comparable diagnostic testing is required and included, its results are documented in the project file.

Some buildings should spend the next dollar somewhere else, and it is cheaper for everyone to say so now.

An active roof leak, standing water in a crawl space, or a known moisture problem comes first. Insulating over wet assemblies traps the problem, and weatherization program rules generally require moisture and other health and safety issues to be corrected before envelope work proceeds. A failed boiler in January is an emergency HVAC call, not a diagnostic. A building already inside a gut rehab should have the envelope scope written into the construction documents rather than assessed separately halfway through. If another authorized contractor assessed the building recently, ask before repeating it, because some program paths accept recent documentation.

We work on properties with 3 or more units. One and two unit buildings are generally served by a different program track than the multifamily one described here.