w w w . r s e s j o u r n a l . c o m10 RSES Journal MARCH 2013

B y T o m m e y e r

Learn what retrocommissioning is, how to apply it to existing buildings and the processes that need to be continued after a project is complete.

RetRocommissioning:squeezing the Best from What exists

All images courtesy of National Environmental Balancing Bureau.

Commissioning is more than system startup just prior to building occupancy. According to ASHRAE Guideline 0, The Commissioning Process, “The Commissioning Pro-

cess is a quality-oriented process for achieving, verifying, and documenting that the performance of facilities, systems, and assemblies meets defined objectives and criteria.”

“Performance,” for these purposes, includes all aspects of building performance—reliability, operation and energy costs, comfort, and the like. Building performance is dependent upon four legs of the building stool. Take one leg away and the building will be unstable.

There are different types of commissioning: new construc-tion commissioning, retrocommissioning, ongoing or contin-uous commissioning, process commissioning, and technical commissioning. New construction commissioning, retrocom-missioning, and ongoing or continuous commissioning are determined by when the commissioning is done during the life cycle of the building. Technical and process commission-ing describe approaches toward retrocommissioning.

All forms of commissioning share the same goals: to pro-duce a building meeting the unique needs of its owners and occupants; to operate as efficiently as possible, while provid-ing a safe, comfortable work environment; and to be operated and maintained by a well-trained staff or service contractor.

Retrocommissioning, or RCx, is the systematic process by which systems are tested and op-

timized to perform interactively to meet the current operational needs of the owner. One dis-tinction between commission-ing and retrocommissioning is the guiding document. In new construction commis-sioning, it is the Owner’s Performance Requirements.

The OPR lays out the owner’s vision. Retrocommissioning looks at the current functional requirements—simply what the building owner needs for it to do now.

Why is rCx important?For the last few years, the HVAC business has changed—new construction has waned; existing buildings are used to meet current needs; maintenance and capital improvements have been deferred; and user awareness and demands have changed. What led to this situation and what it means in the long term could fill several bookshelves. Regardless, RCx has taken a more significant role as a result of these circumstanc-es. RCx makes what already exists work better. It helps keep what exists working at the best possible level considering the facilities, equipment use and users.

Some reasons to retrocommission are: user discomfort; accurate “as-builts;” optimization of existing systems; com-ponents that read accurately; and identifying change of use from original design.

The RCx professional should not guarantee performance or savings because there is no assurance the building will be maintained or operated properly. For example, if an RCx professional guarantees a 20% drop in energy costs over the next three years (ROI), and the building operators go back to bad habits like deferring maintenance and bypassing controls, it is doubtful the expected energy savings will be realized. Experienced RCx professionals know from experi-ence who will be “blamed” for this failure to realize the ex-pected savings. The good ones are reluctant to make prom-ises they cannot keep because they have no control once the RCx is complete.

RCx professionals are hired to make the building work be-cause it does not work. Most buildings are not working cor-rectly when they are turned over to the owner, and there are many reasons as to why: uncoordinated trades; systems seen

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This table illustrates the percentage of buildings in existence that were built during specific time peri-ods. majority of buildings today were built between 1960 and 1999—a lot of potential for retrocommis-sioning projects.

RetRocommissioning:squeezing the Best from What exists

as isolated rather than integrated; the building not properly commissioned prior to initial occupancy; or the building not properly maintained since occupancy. Possibly the answer lies deeper. It may be because construction is driven by schedule and costs, not performance.

There is an old saying, “It’s not going to look any better than it does today.” Unfortunately, that rings true for build-ings as well. Most building owners do not measure perfor-mance, so performance does not improve. Since perfor-

mance is not measured, operators are not held accountable for their performance.

The rCx processArguably, the most important part of RCx is finding the best RCx provider. The secret: write an appropriate specification to help select the appropriately trained, experienced, educat-ed and credentialed RCx professional. Once goals are iden-tified and the team is selected, onto the RCx process. The

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retrocommissioning is not a linear process. Although it may seem like once a phase is complete, it need not be repeated again, in reality, rCx is a cyclical process.

phases of an RCx project as listed in the NEBB Procedural Standards for Retro-Commissioning, include: Planning Phase; Investigation Phase; Corrective Action Phase; and Perfor-mance Verification Phase.

It is important to understand RCx is not a linear process. It may seem once a phase is complete, the activity or phase need not be repeated again. The nature of RCx is exactly the opposite. There will be times when the discovery of a prob-lem in one area will require the RCx team to return to a pre-vious activity and start the investigative process again.

Initially, the owner and the RCx professional survey the facility to determine the extent and purpose of the project. This survey should always include walking the facility. An experienced RCx professional will find this invaluable point-ing out “low-hanging fruit” as they go through the facility. The walk-through also gives the RCx professional a sense of the building.

During the Investigation Phase, among other things, the RCx professional:gCreates an RCx plan; gReviews existing documents; gReviews maintenance-management work orders; gPerforms management, operator and occupant interviews;gReviews current use and any change of use from design

or last commissioning; and gPerforms an ASHRAE Level II energy audit.

This may be a good time to talk about energy audits. First, energy audits are an essential tool of a true retrocom-missioning. Unfortunately, some people are selling energy audits incorrectly claiming them as such. ASHRAE de-scribes three levels of energy audits: Level I–Basic Evalua-tion; Level II–Diagnostic Measurement; and Level III–Ad-vanced Analysis.

NEBB recommends an ASHRAE Level II energy audit as part of a proper retrocommissioning. Defining characteristics

of Level II include: a Level I energy audit; a more detailed building survey; breakdown of energy use (including sub-metering); savings and cost analysis of all energy conserva-tion measures (ECM); and identification of ECM requiring elevation to a Level III energy audit.

As issues are discovered, the RCx professional analyzes each issue with associated causes and impacts. The key is to treat the building as a single system composed of many inte-grated subsystems. With this in mind, the RCx professional analyzes interaction between systems. An issue report is cre-ated to include a description of the issue, recommended cor-rective action, estimated costs, and a general estimated sav-ings, payback and ROI. This is where the low-cost/no-cost corrections are underscored. It is notable the number of sim-ple fixes that significantly improve building performance.

Once the issue report is generated, the owner decides which corrective actions need to be implemented and when. These actions could include a contract for remedial design, procure contractors or equipment, or to perform corrective construction. Significant, although obvious, is a clear under-standing that if the owner does not do anything with the list, there is no improvement to the building performance.

Once the actions from the issue report are complete, building owners and users rate building performance and, in-directly, the effectiveness of the retrocommissioning. This “report card” includes comfort and costs. Comfort is extreme-ly difficult to measure. Comfort is like a clean kitchen—no one notices until it is not clean or comfortable. Comfort may be described as “a lack of discomfort.” More measurable are costs—energy costs, maintenance costs and system reliability.

For RCx to be successful, beyond doing the corrective ac-tions, measures must be in place to prevent the same thing from happening again. Building owners, maintenance teams, and users have good and bad habits. Here is a list of habits that impact building performance.

Bad habitsgDisable schedule to get the space to temperature in the

morning;gDisable or override setpoint reset to make it colder or hotter;gOverride any automatic setpoint reset;gOverride control point output with manual switch; andgAlIow deferred maintenance items to exist.

Good habitsgFind the cause and fix it instead of reacting to the

symptom;gDocument any temporary measures taken and change

them back as soon as the issue is resolved; andgMeasure performance often.

Measuring performance in building energy consumption can include comparing data to baselines using the building’s past performance or to comparable buildings using Energy Star or Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey. Having the information is not enough. It has to go where it

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will do some good: to people who impact the energy con-sumption—owners, facility managers and users. If there is room for improvement, make the corrections, and then start the process all over again. Building-performance monitoring and correction is never-ending. A useful tool is ASHRAE’s Performance Measurement Protocols for Commercial Buildings. It covers different building performances, including energy, water and IEQ.

One of the largest issues in building performance is the difference between “as designed” and “as operated.” Why is there such a gap? In a perfect situation there would be no dif-ference, the vision matches the reality. In the real world, that is just not the case. Following are some reasons for the gap:gPersonnel turnover—Are people being trained to the

level of their predecessors?gTask assignment—Are they the right person for the job?gOperator=building user?—Is the real building

“operator” the user? Building performance can be affected by users up to 40%.gReal training—On the actual system, components

and how it integrates into the building system, are the technicians solving service calls without clearly under standing the “ripple effect”?gEffective maintenance request system—Users are

less likely to fiddle around or “self help” when a responsive

maintenance system exists. Chronic maintenance problems become visible, allowing for proper fixes and reducing user discomfort/dissatisfaction while avoiding higher repair, replacement or operating costs.

If building performance is off design projections, it could be because the systems were not properly designed, installed, commissioned, operated or maintained. Another common reason is the original system design is not appropriate for cur-rent use. Dysfunctional buildings can be corrected by a prop-er retrocommission by a qualified RCx professional.

Tom Meyer is the Director, Technical Programs, for the National Environmental Balancing Bureau. He joined the NEBB staff in February 2012. Meyer is a graduate of The Ohio State University and has more than 25 years of experience in hydronics. Addi-tionally, he co-authored Kuwait residential building code; Incom-ing Chair–ASHRAE Guideline 0, The Commissioning Pro-cess; Incoming Chair–National Institute of Building Sciences Consultative Council; and Chair of ASHRAE TC 7.4, Energy in Sustainable Buildings. Meyer represents NEBB with NIBS, ASHRAE, ASTM, IAS, IAPMO, RPA and others. He is au-thor/co-author of several books and is an ASHRAE Distin-guished Lecturer. For more information, visit www.nebb.org.