The Importance of Commissioning New and Existing Buildings

When you’re addressing operational efficiency in a new or existing building, commissioning (or Cx) should be your starting point. The process of commissioning allows you to evaluate, document, and improve the operation of buildings in order to address common goals, like reducing energy usage, increasing safety, and improving comfort levels for occupants. New Construction Commissioning (or NCCx) can save you resources upfront and prepare your facility operations to be as efficient as possible in the long-run. Existing Building Commissioning (or EBCx) can provide a cost-effective way to save on energy costs and other operational resources.

How Commissioning a New Building Can Save You Costs in the Long-Run

When constructing a new building, owners have an opportunity to establish clear objectives for performance, indoor air quality, and overall occupant comfort. Commissioning helps building owners see a better return on their investment by making sure the project meets their needs and performance goals upon completion. Often commissioning is required by local building codes for new construction and major renovations, or for any project that would like to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. When engaged during the design phase of new building construction, a Cx provider like Yearout Energy can help identify potential issues and make critical recommendations for optimal performance prior to buildout. This means that operational savings can start right away, rather than being fixed after the building is nearly finished. Yearout Energy participates in commissioning throughout the project, acting as your advocate throughout the design and buildout processes to make sure that energy and quality standards are met. By ensuring that the final building meets all expectations and quality requirements, the commissioning process helps reduce operational costs upfront. Over the long term, a commissioned building that runs efficiently is less likely to need costly repairs or maintenance, saving stakeholders money in the future as well.

Bring New Life into Existing Buildings with Recommissioning

Existing building commissioning aims primarily to improve building performance and ensure systems properly interact to meet current facility requirements. At Yearout Energy, we use EBCx as a chance to address flaws in that original design and improve the building, bringing operations up to current standards of efficiency and comfort. Smart choices require smart data, and Yearout Energy uses the best tools to test operational efficiency during our EBCx projects. We thoroughly inspect:

• HVAC and ventilation system efficiency
• Building enclosure, including insulation and windows
• Energy expenditure
• Water usage and plumbing
• Lighting, in terms of both energy expenditure and safety
• Overall building and system safety, efficiency, and quality

Once we assess the facility systems, we’re able to offer up recommendations that can save you money and resources. We can also offer recommendations on replacing old technology with automated smart systems for thermostats, lights, and other energy saving techniques. We’ll also look at whether renewable energy systems such as solar or wind can save you more on your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint.

Consider if Commissioning is Right for Your New or Existing Building

When you select a team like Yearout Energy to deliver commissioning services, you’re securing an advocate for your interests throughout the construction or remodeling process. The number one goal of commissioning is for you to ensure that your new or existing building is functional to the standards you have set in terms of performance, safety, and reliability as well as costs, quality, and schedules. Overall, engaging in this process with an eye toward energy efficiency and comfort can save you time and money. It’s important to bring on a commissioning expert, like Yearout Energy, to define a commissioning plan at the same time you determine your project performance requirements. To maintain quality controls and ensure consistency, it’s ideal for a single, independent entity to lead the process. Commissioning can seem like huge undertakings, especially with large campuses of multiple buildings such as those found at universities, schools, or hospitals. But a smart phased approach, like that offered by Yearout Energy, can help you tackle the biggest challenges first to start saving you money and resources as soon as possible, allowing you to work on smaller projects with greater success. Smaller, single-building commissioning projects can also be completely worthwhile in terms of finding cost-savings and comfort upgrades. Performance contracting can also relieve the burden of cost, allowing you to bank the guaranteed energy savings against the capital expenditure you would need to complete the commissioning project.

Get the Best Commissioning Support with Yearout Energy

Yearout Energy delivers New Construction Commission (NCCx), Existing Building Commissioning (EBCx), and Ongoing Commissioning (OCx) services to public and private building owners across the Southwest. Our team of commissioning professionals follow industry best-practices and utilize a cloud-based software platform enabling real-time collaboration and transparency. Leveraging technology allows the project team to streamline implementation, increase efficiency, enhance issue tracking, and improve accurate information management. To learn more about commissioning and how Yearout Energy can help save you time, resources, and money, get in touch with us today.