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| Why Commission? The Commissioning Authority (CxA) is an objective, independent advocate of the Owner. What is Commissioning? The Commissioning Process is a quality-oriented process for achieving, verifying, and documenting that the performance of facilities, systems, and assemblies meets defined objectives and criteria. The Commissioning Process is a quality-based method that is adopted by an Owner to achieve successful construction projects. It is not an additional layer of construction or project management. In fact, its purpose is to reduce the cost of delivering construction projects and increase value to owners, occupants, and users. New Building Commissioning When does Commissioning Start? The Commissioning Process begins at project inception (during the Pre-Design Phase) and continues for the life of the facility (through the Occupancy and Operations Phase). Why Should I Commission? ASHRAE performed a study of 60 commercial buildings and found that more than half suffered temperature control problems, 40% had problems with HVAC equipment and one-third had sensors that were not operating properly. Amazingly, 15% of the buildings were actually missing specified equipment. The Commissioning Process is intended to reduce the project capital cost through the first year of operation. It also reduces the life-cycle cost of the facility. By utilizing this process you are provided a fully functional, fine-tuned facility, with complete documentation of its systems/assemblies and operators and maintenance personnel are fully trained. Valuable Elements of New Building Commissioning. Building commissioning is of greatest value to the owner when it provides, throughout the many phases of design and construction, a means of continuously communicating their building systems criteria and rigorously verifying compliance with these. In order to accomplish this, the building commissioning scope needs to include the following elements. Prior to design, the CxA will assist the Owner in evaluating the facility's requirements regarding such issues as energy conservation, indoor environment, staff training, and operation and maintenance. Review all phases of design and construction documents for:
An independent CxA is a fundamental requirement of LEED certification process. The State of Iowa energy code references the IECC 2007. Commissioning of buildings is a requirement of the IECC 2007. Benefits to the Owners of new buildings.
What is retro-commissioning?
Retro-commissioning is a systematic process to improve an existing building's performance. Using a whole-building systems approach, retro-commissioning seeks to identify operational improvements that will increase occupant comfort and save energy. The process can be performed alone or with a retrofit project. Typical energy savings are between 5 percent and 20 percent, according to Portland Energy Conservation Inc. (PECI), often with paybacks of less than one year. The goals and objectives for applying the process, as well as the level of rigor, may vary depending on the current needs of the owner, budget, and condition of the equipment. The retro-commissioning process most often focuses on dynamic energy-using systems with the goal of reducing energy waste, obtaining energy cost savings, and identifying and fixing existing problems. Why should I re-commission? Building performance problems are pervasive. Deficiencies such as deferred maintenance, construction defects, malfunctioning equipment, and design flaws have a host of ramifications, ranging from equipment failure, to compromised indoor air quality and comfort, to unnecessarily elevated energy use or under-performance of energy-efficiency strategies. Facilities executives are sometimes skeptical about the bottom-line benefits of retro-commissioning. But, according to a 2005 study called "The Cost-Effectiveness of Commissioning New and Existing Commercial Buildings: Lessons from 224 Buildings," by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, PECI and the Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A∓M University, median payback for retro-commissioning was 8.5 months. Objectives of the Retro-commissioning Process To provide an inclusive and systematic process that intends not only to optimize how equipment and systems operate, but also to optimize how the systems function together. Although retro-commissioning may include recommendations for capital improvements, the primary focus is on using O&M tune-up activities and diagnostic testing to optimize the building systems.
Benefits to the Owners of existing buildings. *
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