FROM THE EDITOR

Whether you’re working on a full-scale LEED-EBOM certification or simply taking the first step on the long walk to a more energy efficient, high-performance building, retrocommissioning is a must.

Retrocommissioning is a systematic process of going through the building system-by-system, checking functionality, and re-tuning to return systems to an optimized state.

According to a 2009 study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, retrocommissioning costs about 30 cents a square foot, but saves on average 16 percent on energy. The average payback for retrocommissioning costs is 1.1 years. And that doesn’t include the possibility of utility incentives for performing retrocommissioning, like this one from Pacific Gas and Electric.

So I hope you’ll agree, retrocommissioning is well worth the time, cost, and effort. But there’s one often overlooked aspect of retrocommissioning. Sure, it’s great to make sure building systems are re-tuned and operating optimally, but what if those building systems are poorly designed? In other words, what if bad systems are running well?  Isn’t that just as bad for efficiency as good systems running poorly? Might it be worse?

Facility managers, especially in older buildings that haven’t had upgrades in some time, should make it a point as part of a regular retrocommissioning process to determine whether the design itself is still effective (whether or not you actually this “retrocommissioning” is another matter, but who cares what’s it’s called as long as it gets done). Is HVAC right-sized? Are all functions of a BAS being used properly and to their maximum potential? Is the building overlit?  

As you’re tuning the building, there’s never a better time to consider those questions, and to begin planning budget-wise to develop solutions.

As always, I’m interested to hear from you. Do you retrocommission? What does your process look like? Do you look at the actual design of the building with fresh eyes to see if it still makes sense?
 

Cheers,

Greg Zimmerman, editor  

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