common commissioning problems - same honolulu€¦ · 11/11/2013 · commissioning problems...

SAME, Honolulu HI November 12, 2013

Melek YALCINTAS, Ph.D., P.E., CxA, LEED-AP

AMEL Technologies, Inc.Manoa Innovation Center2800 Woodlawn Drive, Suite 251Honolulu, HI 96822Phone: 988-0200E-mail: [email protected]

Common Commissioning Problems


LEED Certified Buildings – where Commissioning is a mandatory requirement

Claim:• Saves Energy• Better Indoor Air Quality• Protects Environment• Conserves Resources


LEED Certified Buildings - EnergyThe Claimed benefits of LEED Certified facilities are being questioned:

Recent peer reviewed research papers:

“Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Yes, but …”(Newsham, et al., 2009)

http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc51142.pdf

“Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Not really…”Schofield (2009) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037877880900187X

Then, USGBC States (2013)Once again, GSA recognizes that LEED workshttp://www.usgbc.org/articles/once-again-gsa-recognizes-leed-works


LEED Certified Buildings - EnergyEnergy Consumption Evaluation of U.S. Navy LEED-Certified Buildings(Menassa et al., 2012):

9 of 11 LEED buildings did not achieve a 30% savings in electricity consumption, while seven of eleven met water consumption savings requirements

http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000218

Post-Occupancy Energy Consumption Survey of Arizona’s LEED New Construction Population (Oates and Sullivan, 2012)

http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%29CO.1943-7862.0000478?journalCode=jcemd4&

The LEED NC sample also underperformed both the design and baseline energy use simulations


LEED Certified Buildings - IAQIndoor Air Quality- Occupant Satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED Certified

Buildings(Altomonte and Schiavon, 2013)

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/4j61p7k5

• 144 buildings (65 LEED certified) and 21,477 individual occupant response (10,129 LEED Buildings)

• Not a significant influence of LEED certification on occupant satisfaction with indoor environment quality


What is the true story?

Why LEED certified buildings save energy or cannot save energy?

• Design team has to demonstrate/prove the facility is energy efficient

What Makes a LEED Certified Building to Save Energy and Provide Better Indoor Air Quality?

COMMISSIONING


What is New-Construction Commissioning?A systematic quality assurance process of verifying that building systems are designed, installed, tested, and they are capable of being operated, and maintained to perform as intended, or as the owner expects.


What does Owner Expect from Commissioning Authority?

CxA conducts a series of tests to see how the building will work under normal operating conditions. These tests will detect any faults and problems before the owner takes possession and occupies the building.


Commissioning BenefitsBenefits to Owner:• Improved Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Occupant Comfort• Documented Maintenance Requirements• Improved Staff Training• Increased Life of Equipment• Reduced Operating Costs• Fewer Comfort Problems

Benefits to Contractor:• Reduced Warranty Issues• Reduced Contractor Callbacks


Commissioning Process• Review Owner’s Project Requirements• Coordinate Basis of Design Document• Commissioning Specifications• Commissioning Plan• Design review• Review submittals• Construction observation• Pre-functional checks• Functional testing• Cx Issue resolution• Training• Review O&M manuals• Systems manual• Re-Commissioning• Commissioning Report


Commissioning TeamOwner’s Team:• Construction Engineer• Project Manager• Facility Manager• Maintenance Team

Contractor’s Team:• Project Manager• Quality Control Manager• Subcontractors: HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Controls Test & Balance

Design Team:• Architect, Mechanical Designer, Electrical Designer

Commissioning Authority:• Certified by ACG (AABC Commissioning Group), ASHRAE, BCA

(Building Commissioning Association), NEBB (National Environmental Balancing Bureau)


• Related to Design

• Related to Installation

• Related to Owner

• Related to Contractor

• Related to Commissioner

Commissioning Problems


Commissioning Problems Related to Design

• Sequence of Operation does not Integrate Energy Savings Operations

• Important IAQ Details for Building Pressurization Missing

• Demand Control Ventilation at MinimumVFD Position does not Perform

• Sufficient Maintenance Clearance not Provided


Commissioning Problems Related to Design


Commissioning Problems Related to Installation

• Duct Leakage• Weather Proofing• Corrosive Couplings, Bolts & Nuts• Un-insulated/Incomplete Duct Work• Modulating Dampers/Actuators not Installed

Correctly, & therefore not Responding to Control Commands

• Condensation because of Improper Installation


Duct Leakage



Weather Proofing


Commissioning Problems Related to InstallationCorrosive Couplings, Bolts & Nuts


• Condensation because of Improper Installation



Commissioning Problems Related to Owner• OWNER needs to take part in commissioning activities

• OWNER needs to respond to comments in Cx issue

resolution log

• OWNER needs to actively monitor the building

performance after turnover

• OWNER’s input and support is strongly needed

especially when CxA makes recommendations that will

effect building energy performance, but not necessarily

included in the original construction documents


Commissioning Problems Related to Contractor• Contractor needs to understand that they benefit most from

commissioning: reduced warranty issues, reduced contractor call-backs.

• Contractor needs to understand Cx comments are not to show contractors mistakes but to coordinate successful completion and turn over of the building.


Commissioning Problems Related to Commissioner

• Less involvement during design phase

• HVAC and building system sequences are nor verified during commissioning

• Functional Tests are developed for individual equipment but not whole systems

• Sensor calibration not verified

• Building schedule is not coordinated

• Rigorous of commissioning testing is brief, not detailed enough


Commissioning can Delay Equipment Failure


“Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Yes, but …”

http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc51142.pdf

“Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Not really…”

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037877880900187X

You Decide/Answer:

Energy Savings Potential is Still Real


Conclusions

RECOMMENDATIONS• Commissioning Authority should be hired by Owner, independent of

design team and contractor

• Measurement and verification must be mandatory• Measurement and verification must be conducted continuously

• LEED Certification is not a guarantee for energy saving and better

indoor air quality

• Commissioning is the key for saving energy and better indoor air

quality, provided that Commissioning Comments are taken into

consideration during Design and Construction.

• Commissioning can extend the life of the building and equipment;

resulting less maintenance time.


Melek YALCINTAS, Ph.D., P.E., CxA, LEED-AP

AMEL Technologies, Inc.Manoa Innovation Center2800 Woodlawn Drive, Suite 251Honolulu, HI 96822Phone: 988-0200E-mail: [email protected]

Thank You

common commissioning problems - same honolulu€¦ · 11/11/2013 · commissioning problems...

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