Energy, Building Envelope and Resilience

What the scope can include

Select the work and handoff your project needs. The agreement identifies the included deliverables and responsibilities.

• Energy compliance and performance

  Coordinate envelope, lighting, mechanical and control inputs for the applicable compliance method, including jurisdiction-specific programs such as Title 24 when relevant. Keep calculations and forms aligned with actual equipment and materials.

• Roofs, facades and moisture

  Coordinate roofing, walls, windows, waterproofing, drainage and air/water barrier interfaces. Investigations, repair details and testing need an identified responsible professional and clear construction limits.

• Resilience and voluntary programs

  Define the intended hazard, continuity or certification objective and the applicable specialist work. Distinguish project design and evidence preparation from certification or acceptance by an outside program.

Prepare for the assignment

You can start with incomplete records. Tell us what is available and what still needs to be established.

• Information to bring

  Building and system drawings, product data, climate/jurisdiction, existing condition reports, owner performance objectives and any selected certification requirements.

• The agreed handoff

  Coordinated compliance inputs, envelope interface details and an agreed evidence or testing register appropriate to the contracted objectives.

Decisions, fees and timing

Scope and dependencies determine the proposal. No universal price or approval date is assumed.

1. Confirm the basis and responsibility

   Review the available records, intended endpoint and authority to use the information. Assign missing inputs, technical decisions and the parties who can authorize changes.

2. Coordinate and review the work

   Prepare the included documents from agreed inputs, resolve interfaces with responsible specialists and track revisions. Record external decisions and conditions separately from work prepared for review.

3. Account for project-specific dependencies

   Existing conditions, simulation or testing requirements, product changes, certification scope and additional specialist investigations.

4. Deliver the defined milestone

   Provide the controlling documents and remaining-action record. Identify what is accepted, what still requires a decision and what belongs to a separately contracted next stage.

Windstorm records and enclosure investigations

Coastal certification, roof repair design and diagnosing water entry answer different questions. Establish the location, construction stage and purpose of the assignment before choosing documents or inspection work.

• Texas windstorm inspection and WPI-8 records

  For work subject to the Texas windstorm program, coordinate the applicable inspection and certification path with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) and the qualified inspector or engineer. WPI-8 and WPI-8-E are certificate records, not ordinary roof-repair drawings. Provide the property address, prior certificates, work dates, products and installation details early; the construction stage affects the available evidence. Coordination does not promise certification or insurance eligibility.

• Roof repair and moisture investigation

  Roof repair documentation identifies retained and replaced assemblies, attachment, flashing, drainage and affected structure. A moisture investigation first establishes leak history, observed conditions and a qualified investigation or testing scope across the building enclosure. Supply photographs, prior repairs, product and warranty records and access information. The responsible enclosure and structural specialists define findings and repair details; construction partners perform the separately agreed field work.

Energy documents and field verification

Select the applicable jurisdiction, code cycle and accepted compliance method before choosing a report or scheduling a test. A calculation and a field result answer different questions.

• COMcheck and REScheck

  COMcheck supports commercial energy-code documentation and REScheck supports residential documentation within the versions and pathways supported by each tool. Establish whether the receiving jurisdiction accepts the selected tool for the actual building and work. Coordinate envelope assemblies and glazing with mechanical equipment and lighting/control inputs as applicable. A generated report does not independently establish that drawings match it or that installed work meets the design.

• California Title 24 and the HERS/ECC distinction

  Title 24 is California-specific; its energy provisions are not a nationwide submission method. The California Energy Commission moved the former HERS energy-code field-verification function to the Energy Code Compliance (ECC) program effective January 1, 2026. Whole-home energy rating and code-compliance testing must be distinguished. Identify the project’s applicable code cycle, documentation and qualified verification provider before using an old HERS-labeled form.

• Ratings, duct leakage and readiness for testing

  A home-energy rating evaluates the home under the selected rating program; it is not automatically the same as a permit compliance calculation. Duct-leakage testing measures leakage under the prescribed test conditions, while blower-door testing evaluates building air leakage. Arrange access, system or envelope readiness, qualified testing, reports and correction/retest responsibility. Testing and commissioning must be agreed separately from drawing preparation; do not report an unperformed test as passed.

Different performance questions need different work

Define the performance objective, baseline information, responsible specialist and acceptance evidence before selecting a service.

• Acoustic consulting and noise investigation

  Acoustic consulting starts with the actual source and receiving spaces: speech privacy, room reverberation, equipment noise and vibration are different problems. Supply operating schedules, equipment sound data, construction assemblies and sensitive-neighbor information. The specialist may define measurements, analysis and mitigation details. Coordinate proposed barriers, isolation or duct treatments with mechanical operation, structure and access rather than assuming a generic product achieves a particular sound rating.

• Testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB)

  TAB measures and adjusts air or water flows against the defined design criteria. The testing provider needs current drawings, schedules, operating conditions and access to the completed systems. Its report records readings, settings and unresolved deficiencies for review by the responsible designer. TAB is different from selecting equipment or drawing ducts, and a balancing report alone does not verify every operating sequence or every building-performance goal.

• Commissioning and recommissioning

  Commissioning organizes verification against the owner’s defined operating requirements, including functional sequences, deficiencies, documentation and handoff. Recommissioning revisits a previously commissioned system after changed use or performance concerns; an existing-building investigation may instead establish a missing baseline. Agree on the specialist’s tests, participating contractors, controls access and acceptance process. This work is not automatically included in a permit set and does not replace installation inspections.

• Energy-retrofit planning

  Energy-retrofit planning compares specific envelope, lighting, controls or equipment improvements with actual conditions and operating goals. Useful inputs include utility records, schedules, equipment condition and planned occupancy changes. Qualified analysis should document assumptions, interactions, implementation constraints and how results would be measured. Coordination can support the selected improvements; a generic retrofit recommendation does not establish verified savings or a payback period.

Voluntary building-program support

A certification goal is a separate project decision. Select the applicable program, scope and responsible specialist; these references do not claim that True North or your project holds a certification.

• LEED documentation interfaces

  LEED is a green-building rating system with different paths for project types and phases. A specialist identifies the applicable version, prerequisites and pursued credits. Coordination can organize design inputs, product information and agreed evidence for that team. Documentation support does not award points or certification, and a permit approval does not establish LEED compliance.

• WELL documentation and performance verification

  WELL addresses health-related building conditions through its selected program requirements. Documentation and performance-verification work must be planned with the responsible team, including access and operating conditions for any required assessments. Design intent and an on-site test result are different evidence; neither should be presented as a certification before the program’s review and award.

• Fitwel scorecards and operating evidence

  Fitwel uses project-appropriate scorecards for health-supporting design and operational strategies. Establish whether the engagement concerns design or an occupied building, who owns each policy and which records support the selected strategies. Coordination can help gather the agreed evidence, while the program’s review determines certification. This work is separate from ordinary permit management.

Before you begin

Common questions