Lessons Learned from Continuous Commissioning® of a LEED Gold Building in Texas

Abstract

The subject building is a relatively new building with 120,000 square feet located in Texas and was the first LEED® Gold building in the area. To earn the title of a green building, the designers of this high performance building included many conservation and energy related design features and construction practices. The energy related design features of the building include a roof mounted photovoltaic system, a green roof design, and connection to a district cooling system which utilizes thermal storage. Many of the operations and mechanical issues identified during the course of commissioning the subject building are items common to many commercial buildings, green or conventional. The potential cost savings from implementing the measures is 21% of the annual energy consumption with a simple payback of less than one year. The findings at the subject building suggest that: • High performance buildings have many of the same problems as conventional buildings since none of the issues and opportunities identified would generally be considered unique to high performance buildings • The potential for savings from commissioning the systems in high performance buildings is similar to that of conventional buildings and is as economically attractive.