Conducting the Energy Assessment

Let's talk about how to conduct an energy assessment using GEMS!

Getting Started

Selecting Businesses

Reaching Out to Businesses

> Conducting the Energy Assessment

Following Up

Next Steps

Once a business says ‘yes,’  you’ll use GEMS to complete their energy assessment. Here’s how GEMS works.

Before conducting the energy assessment:

If you’ll be using GEMS on your smartphone, you will need to register the business here at the GIC website and then retrieve the 4-digit reference code prior to performing the assessment. To do so:
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1. Register the business

Register the business or have the business register themselves here at https://greenimpactcampaign.org/register/
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2. Login to GEMS

Go to http://gems.greenimpactcampaign.org/ on your computer and login using the account information that was emailed to you.
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3. Retrieve the 4-digit reference code

Under the Pending Surveys tab, note the 4-digit Reference Code that corresponds to the business that you will be surveying.
If you’ll be using the GEMS Survey Express print-out (download below), you will be able to complete the survey at any time and then you will need to follow the above instructions after performing the survey and then input the survey answers into GEMS.

Download GEMS Survey Express pdf

Conducting the energy assessment:

Once you’re at the business and ready to conduct the survey, do the following:

Step 1: Access GEMS on your smartphone

  • On your smartphone, go to http://gems.greenimpactcampaign.org/
  • Touch the GIC logo, enter the 4-digit Reference Code, and touchStart survey

Step 2: Answer the survey questions

  • The survey is broken into sections: General, Lighting, Plug Load, Building Envelope, HVAC, Water, and Recycling.
  • Here’s how GEMS works:

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Navigation

Tabs at the top of the screen indicate the sections. The highlighted tab indicates the section you are currently working on. Tap another tab to view that section.

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Questions

Use the questions to guide you through the business’s space, observing what is being asked and asking the business representative any starred* questions or any questions you are having trouble finding. If you are unsure of what is being asked in a question, tap the question text to view further descriptions on how to answer the question.
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Answers

For each question, select Yes, No, or N/A based on your findings. When specified, count and input quantities.
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Save

Complete all questions in a section and then tap the Save button at the bottom of each section before proceeding to the next one.

Step 3: Complete all sections of the survey

 

Now that we know how GEMS works, let’s go through some of the questions and learn what the survey is assessing in a building.

Go to "Conduct the Energy Assessment: Lighting" section

Conducting the Energy Assessment FAQs:

Can more than one person conduct an assessment?

Yes. If you are conducting the survey as a team, each person can work on one section of the survey independently. This will lock out anyone else from that section so they don’t duplicate efforts. Likewise, if you’re using the pdf print-out, you can divide and conquer the questions.

Which questions will I need to ask the business representative?

Most of the questions will be observational, meaning you’ll be able to answer them just by walking around and looking for yourself. Questions that are starred (*) indicate those questions that might not be observational and that you’ll have to ask the business representative. It can be good to ask all of the starred questions at once either at the beginning or end of the survey.