Commissioning/Recommissioning

Historically, the term "commissioning" has referred to the process by which the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building was tested and balanced according to the established standards prior to acceptance by the building owner. Unfortunately, HVAC commissioning did not include other building systems that did not directly affect the performance of the HVAC systems.

Total Building Commissioning is a process for achieving, validating and documenting that the performance of the total building and its systems meet the design needs and requirements of the owner.

Because all building systems are integrated, a deficiency in one component can result in sub-optimal operation and performance among other components. Remedying these deficiencies can result in a variety of benefits including:

• Improved occupant comfort
• Energy savings
• Improved environmental conditions
• Improved system and equipment function
• Improved building operation and maintenance
• Improved building productivity

“Commissioning and retro-commissioning are the processes of systematically identifying and correcting building problems and optimizing their operation in new and existing buildings respectively. Despite convincing arguments [5] regarding the benefits of retro-commissioning, widespread industry adoption has not occurred. Limited knowledge by owners of the direct and indirect benefits of a well-operated building, a lack of understanding of retro-commissioning and no assurances that the benefits will last could explain this. Since there is no awareness of waste of energy occurring in day-to-day operations, there is no incentive to do more. As a result, retro-commissioning is rarely employed.”

(Intelligent Building Operating Technologies A Cost-Effective Reduction in Building Energy Consumption, Second Edition May 2004, CANMET Energy Technology Centre - Varennes 1615, Lionel-Boulet Boulevard, P.O. Box 4800 Varennes, Quebec J3X 1S6)

“Several studies show that improving building operation, through what is known as retro-commissioning yields efficiency improvements of 5% to 30%. Retro-commissioning is presently done manually: a specialist interviews people, examines the state of the HVAC systems with the operator and does an evaluation to identify equipment problems. This approach yields immediate and significant benefits, the average energy savings are around 15%. However, after the retro-commissioning is completed and the team has left, the problems eventually return and the performance of the building deteriorates again.”