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A Market Transformation Program to Promote
Commissioning of Commercial Buildings in New York State

Project Description

Experience in New York and other parts of the country has shown that properly commissioning HVAC and control systems can result in significant energy savings and also produce other benefits such as reduced buildings operations problems and improved occupant comfort. Experience in other parts of the country show realized energy savings on commissioning projects in the range of 6% to 12% for new construction projects and 7% to 20% for existing buildings. If just half of the large commercial buildings in New York State (over 100,000 s.f.) were properly commissioned, and savings in these buildings averaged 10%, electricity savings would average approximately 1.35 billion kWh annually (plus additional natural gas and fuel oil savings).

Currently, several demand- and supply-side barriers hinder commissioning in New York. On the demand side, building owners, managers, and developers are unfamiliar with or skeptical about the benefits of commissioning, concerned about the perceived added cost of commissioning, concerned that commissioning could disrupt construction schedules, and unfamiliar with processes to best acquire quality commissioning services. On the supply side, there are only a few firms in New York with substantial commissioning experience - more need to be trained and then gain practical on-the-job experience.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Portland Energy Conservation, Inc., Engineering Economics, Inc., and the Building Commissioning Association are working with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to address these barriers through a program of education and technical assistance to both the purchasers and providers of commissioning services. The specific objectives of the project are to:

Educate facility and project managers, administrators, business managers, and building owners on the benefits of building commissioning through technical assistance, informational and technical workshops, demonstration case studies, and information dissemination;
Initiate activities to support commissioning policy development in New York State; and
Develop the local infrastructure for commissioning services by supporting professional development of the local engineering and architecture community and outreach marketing of the Building Commissioning Association, a commissioning provider professional organization.

Specific project activities include:

initial assessment of the market for commissioning services in New York State;
introductory workshops, development of printed materials (including documented commissioning case studies), and technical assistance to purchasers of commissioning services;
hands-on technical training and technical assistance for providers and potential providers of commissioning services;
specific, focused commissioning assistance to several demonstration projects for which detailed information on commissioning costs and benefits will be collected;
exploration of possible state policies to support commissioning and further demand for cost-effective commissioning services;
organizational support for development of a local chapter of the Building Commissioning Association; and
final evaluation to measure market progress and develop recommendations for continued steps to transform the market for commissioning in New York.

Expected outcomes from this project include: significant direct energy savings from the demonstration projects; increased building owner, developer, and manager understanding of and interest in commissioning; an increased number of New York firms that can provide or better-provide commissioning services; a functioning New York State/Northeast Building Commissioning Association; and initiation of efforts to consider formal state policies in New York to support building commissioning including building code and state facility requirements. In addition, given the role of New York firms as leaders in the national and international architectural and engineering communities, benefits will extend to other geographic areas. These project activities in New York will complement and add momentum to programs in other parts of the country.

For more information, contact:

Matt Brown
NYSERDA
518/862-1090 x.3336
mcb@nyserda.org

Jennifer Thorne
ACEEE
202/429-8873
jthorne@aceee.org

Eric Baxter
PECI
503/248-4636 x.212
ebaxter@peci.org

A Market Transformation Program to Promote Commissioning of Commercial Buildings in New York State

A Market Transformation Program to Promote
Commissioning of Commercial Buildings in New York State