Persistence in Retro-commissioning

RCx for the Rest of Us Session 4

Okay, so you have commissioned your building and you are seeing the 5-20% savings happening. The first 6 months are great! Then slowly your team has shift

ed focus, maybe they are not paying as much attention as they were before. Then the savings that you worked so hard to achieve are slowly disappearing, taking your building backwards to before you commissioned it. Not good.

This is what we call “the facility buy in.” The most important thing to remember, even before you start down the RCx path, is to make sure your team and the supporting departments are on board. It HAS to be a corporate culture thought process.

Be prepared, because tracking the persistence of retro-commissioning is a long-term process but the outcome is the successful operation and improvement of building systems.

Building optimization and retro-commissioning have four paths to success; the people, the process, the hardware and the software. It provides data on how efficiently your buildings are operating all the way down to the comfort level of the occupants.

Building mechanical and electrical systems are complex. Buildings change constantly, e.g. control systems can begin to fail or operate inefficiently without you knowing it, or sensor programming can fail or drift out of calibration, and reprogramming control sequences effect how well all of the systems work together. Any one of the above mentioned changes can result in increased energy costs and occupant complaints when they are not detected and corrected within a reasonable amount of time.

We are all working at full capacity and none of us have much time for anything outside our day-to-day responsibilities. This is where automating the RCx energy savings measures comes in very handy. There are a number of programs in the market, some more robust that others, to monitor your facility and alarming capabilities. Persistence tracking is taking a very proactive role in achieving tenant/occupant comfort without jeopardizing your facilities energy performance.

There is also the mountain of data that is produced through persistence tracking. This data provides an incredible history on every asset onsite and is critical in diagnosing problems and solutions. There is a step by step methodology for tracking, analyzing, diagnosing, and resolving issues with heating, ventilation, lighting systems and air conditioning (HVAC).

A study conducted by the California Commissioning Collaborative, “The Building Performance Tracking Handbook”, is a fantastic resource in determining your energy efficiency and retro-commissioning path.

In closing, be that industry leader; be on the cutting edge of technology that will help you retain the best tenants and enhance your NOI. Interview many technologies and find that open protocol system that will not only give you the tools you need for building optimization, but the freedom to choose the right provider.

Please feel free to email me with specific questions and I can help guide you through the process. kim.tastad@servidyne.com

Introduction January 21, 2011:
Retro-commissioning (RCx) for the Rest of Us

Session One February 18, 2011 :
To commission or not to commission?
I think I want to participate, but I don’t understand the process…

Session Two March 18, 2011:
Qualifying a RCx provider for your RCx
Engineers, don’t take offense!

Session Three April 22, 2011:
Why we trend data and why it’s important

Session Four May 20, 2011:
The Hidden Measures That Can Pay Off in Energy Savings

Session Five June 17, 2011 July 15, 2011:
The importance of persistence in RCx

Session Six July 22, 2011:
Scalability