To Commission or not to commission?

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RCx for the Rest of Us Session 1

I think I want to participate, but don’t understand the process….

We all go to the doctor; well most of us do to get an annual checkup. Generally, our physicians will look at our cholesterol levels, blood pressure, sugar level, eye sight and hearing, some of the important areas that need consistent fine tuning to keep us a well oiled machine. The doctor makes recommendations on what we should do to become better and really it’s up to us to follow those suggestions to achieve better health.

Now if you are a building owner, facility manager, director of engineering, anything to do with the overall health of your building/facility, wouldn’t it make sense to get a checkup and see how “healthy” your building really is? The rapidly growing retro-commissioning programs are the low cost/no cost way to get your facility working optimally.

There are many utilities coast to coast that have robust RCx (retro-commissioning) programs, which make it easy for the customer to participate in the program. The process is simple, the best way to start is to ask your account executive or go on to your utility’s website and search for retro-commissioning. There you will find links to approved RCx providers (i.e. Servidyne), and links to details about the utility’s specific program. A detailed application will need to be filled out and submitted to either the utility directly or the program implementer. From there, your facility will be qualified, or if your facility does not qualify, the utility or program manager will guide you to another utility program that would be better suited. Most utilities require your facility to have digital controls and be 100,000 sq ft or above.

Your utility will require you to implement measures with a limited payback time (i.e. 1-2 year payback). There is usually a “not to exceed cap” as well. For example, it could be between 5-10% on your energy bill. Therefore you are not required to implement anything that would be above that dollar amount.  If there is a payback on measures longer than their requirement, there could be incentives to help buy down the cost of the measure, to make it economically viable for you to install.

One reason you may not qualify for the RCx program, you don’t have digital controls, or you do not meet the square footage requirement. If your building is small, don’t get discouraged. As RCx programs advance, they are working on ways to incorporate those 25,000- 80,000 sq ft buildings. If the 2010-2012 program cycle doesn’t allow your building to participate, it should in the future. So continue to check back with your utility and their program offerings.

The timeline process could be up to a year to a year and a half from application, approval, scoping, investigation, implementation and finally, to measurement and verification.

RCx is definitely a great program to take advantage of through your utility. They want your building to run as efficiently as possible.

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

 

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