Import Buildings

Buildings may be imported into Asset Score in bulk to save a few data entry steps, quickly enter, score and review buildings in Preview mode and/or import building data from an Energy Star Portfolio Manager account to create buildings in Full input mode. Buildings may also be imported into the Audit Template from BuildingSync® XML files.


Import Preview Buildings from CSV


A Preview Input Mode Building Upload Template is available which provides the capability to upload a large number of buildings through a single step process, using the Preview Input Mode. Default building assembly components, lighting and HVAC systems will be automatically be entered.


To import a building or a group of buildings into Asset Score:

  1. Download the template by selecting the Download Template button on the Import Buildings page, available from the green 'Import Buildings' button on the Buildings home page 
  2. Review the instructions listed on the ‘Instructions’ sheet of the template
  3. Enter building data in the ‘Buildings’ sheet of the template
  4. Save the 'Buildings' sheet as a .csv file
  5. Select either or both of the checkboxes to simultaneously create a group of the imported buildings and submit this group for scoring in a batch run for a quick preview analysis
  6. Upload the .csv file by selecting the saved file with the ‘Choose File’ button, then selecting the ‘Import CSV’ button


After uploading, new Preview Input buildings will be available to view, edit and score in the My Buildings page. Notification will be provided if any errors were generated. Common errors include:

  • Year of construction outside the range of 1800-2018
  • Nil or invalid floor area given. The GFA needs to be present, non-empty, equal to or greater than 100, and not contain commas or any other formatting.
  • Name and/or Address contains unsupported characters.  Asset score input characters are set to Windows-1252 (e.g. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows-1252).  Full TrueType font (TTF) sets tend to be rather large.  Using the built-in PDF character sets, which only support Windows-1252, helps minimize Asset Score PDF report file sizes.


You may convert imported Preview buildings to Full Input Mode to add additional building data and generate a full Asset Score report with cost  effective upgrades, by selecting the 'Switch to Full Version' button at the top of the screen.


Import Audits from BuildingSync® XML


BuildingSync® XML, developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is a standardized language for commercial building energy audit data that software developers may use to exchange data between audit tools. For more information on BuildingSync, visit https://buildingsync.net, which includes a data dictionary, example files, and an implementation guide (see https://buildingsync.net/documents/).  


Building audit BuildingSync® XML files downloaded from the Audit Template or generated from other software may be copied and edited, and used to import into the Audit Template to create a new audit report. To import into the Audit Template:

  1. Select a Report Type from the drop down menu
  2. Select ‘Choose File’ and click on an XML file
  3. Select the blue Import Building Sync XML button


After import, the new audit report building should appear on the Buildings page.  XML files that are not in the correct format will display an invalid warning and will not be imported.


Note:  the capability of exporting and importing BuildingSync® XML files is still under development.  Not all of the input fields in an audit report are currently available to export and/or import in the Audit Template.