Commissioning

Course Description
Studies of commissioning projects in existing buildings show median paybacks of
1.1 years and savings of up to 30%, sometimes more. Commissioning is a
process to ensure building performance problems are understood and corrected.
Deficiencies such as design flaws, construction defects, malfunctioning
equipment, and deferred maintenance have a multitude of consequences,
ranging from equipment failure, to poor indoor air quality and comfort, to
unnecessarily high energy use or under-performance of energy efficiency
strategies. Fortunately, an emerging form of quality assurance, known as building
commissioning, can identify and cure most deficiencies. This course will explain
the purpose of a commissioning process, and discuss the impact of the
commissioning process on energy efficiency.
Course Outline
Course Objectives
Explain the purpose and benefits of commissioning, and how it relates to
energy efficiency
Define new construction commissioning, retro-commissioning, recommissioning, continuous commissioning, and monitoring-based
commissioning
Explain key success factors for commissioning
Explain the role of energy monitoring systems in supporting effective
continuous commissioning
Course Content or Material
1) Introduction
2) Definitions
a) Commissioning
b) Re-commissioning
c) Retro-commissioning
d) Continuous commissioning
e) Monitoring-based commissioning
3) Purpose
a) The purpose of existing building commissioning is to:

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i) Improve building performance by saving energy and reducing

operational costs
ii) Identify and resolve building system operation, control and
maintenance problems
iii) Reduce or eliminate occupant complaints and increase tenant
satisfaction
iv) Improve indoor environmental comfort and quality and reduce
associated liability
v) Document system operation
vi) Identify the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) personnel training needs
and provide such training
vii) Minimize operational risk and increase asset value
viii)Extend equipment life-cycle
ix) Ensure the persistence of improvements over the buildings life
x) Assist in achieving LEED for Existing Buildings
http://www.usgbc.org/LEED
xi) Improve the buildings ENERGY STAR rating
http://www.energystar.gov/
b) Commissioning a building (and systems within a building) helps ensure
that
i) The owners project requirements are complete, feasible and welldocumented;
ii) The design teams solutions adequately address the owners
requirements;
iii) Construction is complete and of appropriate quality;
iv) The owner receives the training and project documentation to
successfully operate the project; and
v) The many players in the project acquisition process can cooperate for
the common good.
c) Buildings systems under perform for several reasons:
i) They were never properly configured
ii) The design did not account for all sources of building efficiency
iii) The building is not properly maintained
iv) The use of the building has changed over time
d) Commissioning will ensure that the building and all of building systems
work as they should. When commissioning a building, its important to:
i) Use an independent 3rd party to verify the condition of the building and
building systems
ii) Begin at the design phase

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iii) Focus on the end result A building that works comfortably and
efficiently!
4) Overcoming Commissioning Impediments
a) Some view commissioning as a luxury and added cost. Other perceived
impediments include
i) A delay in savings - Savings may not show up as a reduction in
construction costs
ii) No perceived need
iii) A new responsibility for construction and building managers
b) It is important to remember that the commissioning process is only a way
to measure the cost of errors disseminated by other parties involved in the
design, construction, or operation of buildings. The commissioning
process will expose and discover the means to address pre-existing
issues.
c) Commissioning is one of the most cost-effective means of improving
energy efficiency in buildings. While not a universal remedy, it can play a
chief and strategically important role in accomplishing energy savings
goals. The ultimate impact of energy efficiency programs lies in no small
part in the extent to which they are coupled with cost-effective quality
assurance.
5) Commissioning & Energy Efficiency
a) How does the commissioning process affect energy efficiency?
i) Less than 10% of all buildings are commissioned at an additional cost
of 1% -2%. Spending that extra money upfront is definitely worth it as
you can see here.
b) Additionally, the commissioning process:
i) Helps to ensure that you get what you paid for and that it works
efficiently and effectively
ii) Helps to reduce call backs
iii) Helps reduce change orders
iv) Helps retain tenants
v) Yields better Indoor Air Quality, and
vi) Improves employee productivity
6) Energy Monitoring Systems

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a) Benchmark the site consumption against other sites

b) Identify normal patterns of consumption, or patterns that correspond to the
building's optimum setup, and to identify promptly when some change
occurs. That change could be due to a fault in the system, to someone
overriding a setting and not returning it to its original value, to some other
change like new equipment being brought in, or to an increase or
decrease in the occupancy. Whatever the cause, an energy monitoring
system would show the facility manager that there is a deviation from the
expected energy performance and allow him to investigate, discover and
solve the problem much more quickly
c) Provide data that can be analyzed to determine if a change to a setting
had a positive or negative effect on energy consumption
d) If modeling is supported, provide a "what if" analysis that may help the
facility manager anticipate the influence of changes in drivers such as
production level or occupancy
7) Summary

2011 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.