Continuing with the theme from last month, this column presents another real-life example of how trend analysis, if done thoughtfully, can uncover wasted energy that no one even suspected.

Whether it’s new construction commissioning or existing building retro-commissioning, “commissioning” is about entire systems and their performance.

There are some building types and/or organizations that are nearly always undergoing some sort of facility upgrade, modification, and/or expansion to accommodate evolving needs.

This is a story about two new construction commissioning projects with similar challenges and as-yet unwritten endings. 

Last month’s column introduced the concept of giving “too much control” to the building operators through the BAS graphic.

The idea for this month’s topic was hatched during a retro-commissioning project, but it offers lessons to be applied to new construction commissioning.

Much has been written about systems’ readiness for functional performance testing at the end of construction, and pre-functional checklists have become common elements of the commissioning process.