Clear answer, explained.
Ontario's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) require buildings above the regulated floor area threshold to meet maximum Energy Use Intensity targets specific to their building type. Compliance requires owners to first establish where their building currently sits — which requires a documented, data-backed energy baseline. An ASHRAE Level 2 audit produces exactly that documentation.
The audit baseline gives the building owner a clear picture of the gap between current EUI and the required threshold, and a ranked list of measures that reduce that gap in order of cost-effectiveness. Conservation measures — HVAC recommissioning, controls upgrades, lighting retrofits — directly lower EUI by reducing consumption. Where solar generation is added, it reduces grid-purchased electricity, which also improves the building's reported energy performance under certain reporting frameworks.
The audit report serves as the foundation for the compliance roadmap: what to implement, in what order, by when, and at what cost. For owners managing multiple properties, the audit framework is consistent across the portfolio — enabling portfolio-level BEPS planning rather than property-by-property reactive compliance.
What this means in practice.
- BEPS requires large Ontario buildings to meet defined Energy Use Intensity (EUI) limits
- A commercial energy audit establishes the verified baseline EUI that BEPS documentation requires
- The audit identifies conservation measures that reduce EUI — closing the gap to the required standard
- HVAC recommissioning, controls upgrades, and LED retrofits are common EUI-reduction measures identified in audits
- The audit report serves as the foundation for a BEPS compliance roadmap — sequenced by cost-effectiveness
- Portfolio owners can use a consistent audit framework to manage BEPS compliance across multiple properties
Best-fit environments.
- Your building is above the regulated BEPS floor area threshold and you need to understand your compliance position
- You are preparing a BEPS compliance roadmap and need a verified energy baseline to work from
- You are a CRE owner managing multiple Ontario properties and need a consistent compliance framework
- You are planning capital improvements and want to align them with both financial return and BEPS compliance
