Visit the Energy Systems Laboratory Homepage.
Retrocommissioning Case Study - Applying Building Selection Criteria for Maximum Results
Abstract
Commissioning of existing buildings, or
“retrocommissioning” is a systematic process to
identify operational and maintenance (O&M)
improvements that optimize building performance
and ensure that building systems function together
efficiently and effectively (Haasl, Sharp 1999). This
paper presents a case study of a utility-funded
retrocommissioning evaluation on a 125,000 SF
office facility in La Mesa, California. The
commissioning process consisted of site visits,
interviews with facility staff, data collection and
analysis, recommendation of energy conservation
measures, and verification of savings. The study
identified 13 deficiencies and recommended a suite
of three O&M measures, one capital improvement
measure and five other measures. The measures
selected and implemented by the owner resulted in
annual projected savings of 238,000 kWh (9.9%) and
utility cost savings of $20,000 (6.9%)1, with a simple
payback of 0.7 years. The project also demonstrated
the value of applying rigorous building selection
criteria to obtain cost-effective results. This paper
profiles the project and discusses lesson learned.
Citation
Luskay, L.; Haasl, T.; Irvine, L.; Frey, D. (2002). Retrocommissioning Case Study - Applying Building Selection Criteria for Maximum Results. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /5176.