Commercial

Its important to understand how commissioning can assist in the delivery of a high-quality and robust building project: one that provides a safe and healthy facility with reduced energy use, reduced operating cost, adequate O&M staff training, and improved building systems documentation.

The key drivers of Commissioning are energy cost reduction, sustainability, reduced O&M costs, improved efficiency, and occupant health and safety, but these may vary according to building type and owner.

Reduced Operating and Maintenance Costs;
Operating cost reduction is now prevalent as businesses seek to reduce waste to stay competitive. Commissioning can help property owners ensure they achieve the best returns possible from the capital invested in building systems.There are important studies that demonstrate that commissioning returns even more financially if efficient and cost-effective maintenance is carried out.

Improved Efficiency;
Commissioning and its variants are good ways to ensure building systems operate efficiently and effectively. Systems that perform efficiently require less energy, which reduces energy costs. Efficient systems also require less maintenance, which also reduces costs to a company.

An often overlooked efficiency that is gained through commissioning is employee efficiency. When employees are comfortable they tend to be more get more work done with fewer resources. Making sure that employees have comfortable temperatures and lighting conditions will increase worker efficiency.

Sustainability;
In addition to energy efficiency and whole-building performance drivers, a key driver for Commissioning is sustainability and the desire to achieve certification through building performance rating systems Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

The LEED New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Shell and Core rating systems include Fundamental Commissioning as a prerequisite that is required for any certification project. Additional LEED points are available for Enhanced Commissioning.

Commissioning plays an even larger role in the Building Operations + Maintenance rating system, which includes points for Ongoing Commissioning or Continuous Commissioning with the intent of making periodic adjustments to the building systems so that they continue to operate efficiently.