Total Building Commissioning

Building owners from all over the country are finding that the energy, water and operational savings resulting from commissioning offset the cost of implementing the commissioning process. Recent studies indicate that on average the operating costs of a building that has been commissioned range from 8-20 percent below that of a non-commissioned building. An investment in commissioning at the beginning of a project often results in operating cost reduction that last the life of the building.

So how do you budget for commissioning? Can you just plug in a $/sq. ft. number and move on? Maybe or maybe not.
Is the project LEED™? If so, LEED™ views commissioning as a prerequisite with prescribed tasks covering the HVAC, lighting control, domestic hot water and renewable systems beginning at the construction phase of the project. LEED™ also offers an enhanced point for commissioning that brings the commissioning authority on during the design phase of the project with additional tasks (and an increased budget).

If the LEED™ measurement and verification point (M&V) is attempted, commissioning takes an additional role to verify the energy usage which begins in the design development of the project.

Another factor is the size and complexity of the building. Because some commissioning tasks are uniform for all projects,  smaller buildings have a higher cost per square foot.

Finally, what does the building require? In an office building,  HVAC, lighting control and domestic hot water commissioning may suffice. However, a clean room with tight control of humidification will require envelope commissioning. In a data center, commissioning of the electrical systems is critical.

Below are a few ranges for commissioning costs but as this article suggests, have a commissioning  professional budget the project based on building type, operational requirements, size and complexity so that your cost estimates for commission have you covered.

Note: In general, the cost of commissioning a new building ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 percent of the total construction cost, as shown in the table. For an existing building, never before commissioned, the cost of retro-commissioning can range from 3 to 5 percent of the total operating cost.

• Entire building (HVAC, controls, electrical, mechanical): 0.5-1.5 percent of total construction cost

• HVAC and automated control system: 1.5-2.5 percent of mechanical system cost

• Electrical systems: 1.0-1.5 percent of electrical system cost

Raymond A. Dodd, P.E., CxA, LEED AP possesses a wide breadth of experience, totaling more than 25 years, in the mechanical facilities field with extensive knowledge of commercial, industrial, institutional and high-technology mechanical facilities systems. He is a skilled project manager proficient at handling the logistic, technical and communications challenges required in the commissioning, construction, design and sales process. He has been the owner of an HVAC service company, which has given him hands-on experience and provided him with additional insight into constructability of his designs as well as the issues faced by owners and facilities personnel throughout the commissioning process. He has worked as a consulting engineer and directed the engineering group for a large national mechanical design/build company and served as a LEED™ commissioning engineer.

rad@tbcxinc.com