Commissioning is a critical factor in reducing operating and maintenance costs, improving the comfort of a building’s occupants, and extending the life of equipment. The investment in commissioning can result in major costs savings.
Ineffective operation can come from improper installation, incorrect adjustment, or other contractor errors. These problems are typically discovered after the contractor and design teams have completed their work and are no longer on the project, leading to months, even years, of troubleshooting and fine tuning.
All but the simplest HVAC systems get “out of tune” over the years, so commissioning an existing system is generally considered a good value, even if no modifications are being made. This exercise is called retro-commissioning and should be performed on a regular schedule over the life of the system.