Environmental and financial benefits of retro-commissioning your building
Constantly fluctuating energy prices, along with a focus on environmental efficiency, has many Chicago-area business owners looking for ways to reduce energy waste at their facilities.
While scheduling equipment or installing LEDs are good ways to start, evaluating the operational efficiency of your building systems is an essential next step.
Existing building commissioning, or retro-commissioning, is a process in which a team of engineers evaluate current energy usage, identify energy waste, and implement solutions to reduce overall energy use for gas, electric, HVAC and water systems. As companies look to reduce their energy use, the retro-commissioning process is a key step toward that goal.
Retro-commissioning involves a series of steps. A commissioning team will meet on-site with a company's operational staff to discuss any operational and maintenance issues within the facility. They will look over existing maintenance documentation or logs and photograph and survey the facility's systems to determine how those systems function.
The commissioning team will then evaluate the facility's metering and review utility bills to identify any trends in energy usage, such as equipment running when it shouldn't be, and determine if the systems' operation meets the facility's current needs.
Along with on-site interviews and a review of record documents, the team uses diagnostic tools like infrared cameras to gather information about a facility. Infrared cameras produce color-coded thermographic pictures (heat maps) of a building's exterior or operating equipment. The thermographic pictures will identify sources of energy waste like heat loss from a building's facade or worn bearings in operating equipment.
The retro-commissioning process will then identify common operational issues like an HVAC system simultaneously heating and cooling to maintain a preferred indoor temperature. These common issues are inefficient and once identified can be easily corrected at a relatively low cost.
Once the retro-commissioning study is complete, the commissioning team will compile its findings and develop a plan for the client with recommended changes. Those changes can vary in cost and may include capital improvements, such as upgrading or replacing equipment that is near its end of life or not operating correctly.
Recommended control upgrades can modernize and optimize the way building systems function, saving energy and reducing operating costs. These types of controls upgrades are often low-cost providing owners with "quick win" opportunities.
Since the deficiencies can be quantified, a payback period can be assigned to each recommendation to help the building's owner make key decisions. Often times retro-commissioning studies can identify energy saving measures with a payback period under three years. Along with providing environmental and financial benefits, retro-commissioning can improve comfort for a building's occupants and support increased worker productivity.
The retro-commissioning process is supported by Chicago-area utilities, including ComEd, Nicor Gas and Peoples Gas. Companies interested in retro-commissioning may qualify for a property assessment at no cost through ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs.
• Mark Chmura is a Burns & McDonnell project manager, a registered professional engineer (PE) in Illinois, a Qualified Commissioning Provider (QCxP), a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and a LEED Accredited Professional. He is focused on helping clients achieve their goals by delivering new and existing building commissioning services.