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The Organic Nature
of Sustainable Buildings
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Retrocommissioning, continued...
Setting up a budget for a retro-commissioning project can be challenging.
"The problem is you don't know what you'll be implementing until you do
the investigation, but you can't spend your whole budget on the other four
phases without implementation because then it just becomes another study,"
explains Sacks. DGS is currently reserving 20-25 percent of the total
budget for implementation. Of what's left, about 30 percent goes for
initial planning, 55 percent for investigation, 7.5 percent for training
and 7.5 percent for project closure. "There are a lot of hours that go
into the planning and investigation phases," he says. "The better you
plan, the better the outcome will be."
As the current retro-commissioning projects are completed, Sacks and DGS
will get a better idea of how to best cost out future projects. "Factors
such as the size of the facility, the complexity of the building's
systems, and the availability of the building's maintenance staff to
assist with the investigation and implementation all impact the cost of
the project," Sacks says. Still, after the commissioning costs are paid
back through energy savings, a big building can save over $100,000 a year
for the rest of its life.
In addition, says Doug Gatlin, manager of LEED for Existing Buildings for
the USGBC, "We are starting to see improvements in occupant health,
comfort and productivity in buildings that have achieved LEED
specifications, the implementation of which includes improved air flow,
temperature and other enhancements to the indoor environment. "Studies
have shown a 2-18 percent increase in the productivity of the occupants of
these buildings," he says, "and 20 percent better test performance among
students in LEED certified schools."
"Our state partners are some of the biggest owners of buildings," says
Gatlin. "The Governor's Executive Order is exciting in that the biggest
state has this green mandate throughout its operations. To have a whole
state that has pledged to go green in its ongoing operations and
maintenance is very significant."
Gatlin can't predict to what extent LEED-EB will become a routine process
for all existing buildings, although the organization's membership has
spiraled from 1,137 members in 1995 to over 6,500 today. He is convinced
that "owners believe the O and M (operations and maintenance) component is
important - making sure the building is working as it's intended and then
making corrections and upgrades to enhance those operations, which is
exactly what does."
Even in smaller buildings not included in the official State program,
Gatlin notes that there are a number of things that building managers, or
the people who work in the building, can do to increase energy efficiency
and create a better workplace. "Have someone who regularly tracks energy
consumption, for example," he says, "someone who is vigilant in making
sure the systems are controlled properly."
Tracking energy consumption means benchmarking the system against a
standard. There is a national benchmark for energy performance for any
building over 5,000 square feet provided by the Environmental Protection
Agency on its
Energy Star® website. With the
Energy Star Portfolio Manager, it's easy to calculate energy savings by
entering information from utility bills and a few characteristics of the
building.
"Many buildings have automated, computerized heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC) systems in place," he continues. "But if you have an
operator who isn't trained on using that system, he will often try to
override it and run it manually. Then you don't get any of the benefits or
cost savings that the system is engineered to provide. When the controls
are not working properly, you can have the fans running all the time, or
you don't cut off the cooling at night. I've actually seen buildings where
the heating and cooling systems are running at the same time. That not
only wastes money, it results in lower comfort levels for the people in
the building."
Sacks agrees, saying that running the heating and air conditioning
simultaneously is "one of the ten most common deficiencies uncovered in
investigations." Others he mentions are such easily correctable items as
improper economizer operation, stuck actuators and dampers, faulty
sequences of operation, and equipment scheduling issues.
Gatlin suggests calling the vendors who manufactured the equipment for
assistance. They are usually more than happy to provide training and to
ensure that the equipment is functioning at optimum levels.
"Any building manager or owner can assess their operations and maintenance
practices," Gatlin adds.** "That can include measures such as turning the
lights off at night or installing occupancy sensors, managing the air
conditioning/heating systems to make sure they are well calibrated and
operating as intended. All these mundane things can add up to real energy
savings in commercial buildings."
*Includes all office, laboratory, medical
and educational buildings. Excludes buildings belonging to the judicial
branch and university buildings within the Cal State and University of
California systems, although many of these are also undergoing energy
efficiency and other "green" enhancements.
** For more detailed information see USGBC's Reference
Guide on LEED for Existing Buildings.
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