The “Data Collection” section is used to define data input requirements for the reporting template. This section ensures that submissions meet minimum asset thresholds, validation rules, and data completeness standards across various reporting categories. This section includes six key sub-sections as listed below, each of which plays a specific role in how the audit data is collected and validated. 

Part 1 of this article will cover the first five sub-sections. The “Field Requirements” sub-section will be detailed in Part 2 of this article. 

1. Audit Cycles 
2. Minimum Asset Requirements 
3. Coverage Validation Requirements 
4. Building Annual Summary for Energy Use and Energy Cost Requirements
5. Energy Savings Opportunities Requirements
6. Field Requirements 

Note: To access this section, please refer to Field Configuration in CTC: Overview for detailed steps.

Field Configuration in CTC: Data Collection (Part 1)

Audit Cycles

This section allows you to define the name and duration of one or more audit cycles. This input can be useful for programs that expect buildings to be audited with each implementation cycle. Defining each audit cycle or implementation cycle would allow buildings to be filtered by the implementation cycle. 

• Name: Label for the audit cycle.
• Start Year / End Year: Defines the time period covered by each audit cycle.

Click + Add Audit Cycle to add a new entry.

Minimum Asset Requirements

This section is used to specify the minimum number of required assets (building systems) or data entries for each category. If a field is set to 0, no instances are required. Any number greater than 0 indicates the minimum required quantity.

For example, when the value of “HVAC Systems” is set to 1, then at least 1 HVAC system needs to be defined for the submission to be considered valid (Fig 1).

The fields have been divided into 3 major categories: 

• Facility Systems (e.g., HVAC Systems, Roofs, Windows)
• Energy Audit (e.g., Energy Meter Readings, Energy Savings Measures, Energy Savings Packages)
• Water Audit (e.g., Fixtures, Cooling Towers, Toilets). Note: this section is only visible when the module for ‘Water Audit’ has been selected. 

Fig 1. Minimum Asset Requirements in CTC (Left), HVAC Systems Showing Validation Error Based on the Minimum Asset Requirements in CTC (Right)

Coverage Validation Requirements

This section is used for settings to control whether certain systems (fixtures, hot water systems, HVAC systems) must be linked to the use types that they serve. 

• Validate serves use type?: Select Yes to enforce a link between each system/fixture and at least one use type via the "Location" field.

Fig 2. Coverage Validation Requirements in CTC

Note: When a report building is configured to be a common/tenant area, additional coverage validation would be available to the common and tenant area respectively. For information about Coverage Validation, please refer to Coverage Validation and Examples.

Fig 3. Coverage Validation Requirements for Common/Tenant Building Type

Building Annual Summary for Energy Use and Energy Cost Requirements

This section is used to define how energy use and cost data is captured...

Fig 4. Building Annual Summary for Energy Use and Energy Cost Requirements in CTC (Top), Corresponding Building Annual Summary for Energy Use and Energy Cost Section in Audit Template user interface (Bottom)

Energy Savings Opportunities Requirements

This section controls validation rules...

Fig 5. Energy Savings Opportunities Requirements in CTC

Field Requirements

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Fig 1. Example Layout of the Field Requirements Sub-section in CTC

Fig 2. Example Field Attributes Settings

Fig 3. Example of a Required Field in the Reporting Template