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For
Release:
Dec. 16, 2013
Contact:
Jodi Scott
Public
Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org
ASHRAE Offers First Opportunity to Comment on Proposed
Guideline for Commissioning Existing Systems, Assemblies
ATLANTA
– With functional changes and occupant productivity driving the need to
commission existing facilities, ASHRAE is developing a guideline that
addresses the commissioning process. The guideline is now open for public
input.
ASHRAE
Guideline 0.2P, The
Commissioning Process for Existing Systems and Assemblies,
describes the procedures, methods, documentation, requirements and physical
activities of the commissioning process for existing buildings, systems and
assemblies using the principles developed in ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process.
The
proposed guideline is open for public comment from Dec. 6 until Jan. 20,
2014. For more information, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.
“The
most fundamental difference between new and existing building commissioning
besides the obvious – one is new construction, one is existing – is that the
function of the space may have changed substantially since it was designed,”
Bill Dean, chair of the committee writing Guideline 0.2, said. “Related to
that is that the building occupants are people with a voice and opinion as
opposed to the theoretical occupant in new construction represented by the
architect or owner. A great deal of the focus in the past was on energy
savings being used to fund building improvements; now we are seeing
functional changes and occupant productivity driving the need to commission
existing facilities.”
Commissioning
of existing systems also should result in energy and cost savings. Dean
referenced a 2009 study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that
suggests a median 16 percent energy savings with a 1.1 year payback for
energy based existing building commissioning. The study noted “commissioning
is arguably the most cost-effective strategy for reducing energy, costs and
greenhouse-gas emissions in buildings today.”
Commissioning
also impacts occupant comfort and assists in repurposing buildings. The
quantifiable non-energy benefits are often equal to or greater than energy
savings.
Guideline
0.2P is a process guideline that is intended to be applied to any type of
facility.
For
example, we envision technical requirement guides being written to cover
building envelope, elevators, fire alarm systems, smoke control, lighting
electrical, plumbing, site infrastructure and district heating and cooling,
etc.” Dean said. “The same ASHRAE committee is currently developing the
technical requirements for a proposed standard on existing HVAC&R systems
(1.2P, The Commissioning
Process for Existing HVAC&R Systems).”
Other
commissioning guidance from ASHRAE includes Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process;
Guideline 1.1-2007, HVAC&R
Technical Requirements for the Commissioning Process; and
Guideline 1.5-2012, The
Commissioning Process for Smoke Control Systems; and Standard
202-2013, Commissioning
Process for Buildings and Systems.
ASHRAE
also is working on several other guidelines related to commissioning:
Guideline 1.2P, The
Commissioning Process for Existing HVAC&R Systems; Guideline
1.3P, Building Operation
and Maintenance Training for the HVAC&R Commissioning Process;
and Guideline 1.4P, Procedures
for Preparing Facility Systems Manuals.
ASHRAE,
founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000
members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems,
energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability.
Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing
education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.
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