HVAC COMMISSIONING
Jim Snyder
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Fort Sill Resident Office
(580) 581-4115
James.E.Snyder@us.army.mil
WHY HVAC COMMISSIONING?
n Improve system performance
n Lower operating and maintenance costs
n Lower repair costs
n User comfort, safety & IAQ
n Owner quality verification
n Conforms with design intent
TWO COMMISSIONING PATHS
1. MILCON Transformation
• ASHRAE Guideline 1, “The HVAC
Commissioning Process”
• ASHRAE Guideline 1.1 & 0
2. Traditional MILCON
• UFGS 230800
TRANSFORMATION
n Design-Build contract with standard
Request For Proposals (RFP)
n Allow A/E more leeway in design
n Use standard construction guidelines
and codes
n Corps of Engineers Unified Guide
Specifications not required
n Reduce cost and time of construction
TRANSFORMATION cont’d
n Standard RFP requires:
1. Test, Adjust and Balance
2. Government Supervised PVT
3. Commissioning
4. Energy Conservation 30% below baseline
building based on life cycle cost analysis
MILCON TRANFORMATION RFP
All HVAC systems and equipment including
controls shall be commissioned in accordance
with ASHRAE Guideline 1. The Commissioning
Authority as described in Guideline 1 shall be
hired by the General Contractor and shall be
certified as a Commissioning Authority by AABC,
NEBB, or TABB. The Contracting Officer’s
Representative will act as the Owner’s
representative in performance of duties spelled
out under OWNER in Annex A2 of ASHRAE
Guideline 1.
MILCON TRANFORMATION RFP
Commission all HVAC systems and equipment including
controls and all systems requiring commissioning for
LEED Fundamental commissioning, in accordance with
ASHRAE Guideline 1.1, ASHRAE Guideline 0 and LEED.
Do not use the sampling techniques discussed in
ASHRAE Guideline 1.1 and 0. Commission 100% of the
HVAC controls and equipment. The Contractor shall hire
the Commissioning Authority (CA), Certified as a CA by
AABC, NEBB, or TABB, as described in Guideline 1.1.
The CA will be an independent contractor and not an
employee or subcontractor of the Contractor or any other
subcontractor on this project, including the design
professionals (i.e., the DOR or their firm (s)). The
Contracting Officer’s Representative will act as the
Owner’s representative in performance of duties spelled
out under OWNER in Annex F of ASHRAE Guideline 0.
WHEN TO IMPLEMENT?
n ASHRAE Guideline 1 and 0 recommends
early in the program phase, and provides
general information required in the full
commissioning process from program phase
to post-acceptance.
n Design-build contractor team should identify
commissioning authority in their proposal.
COMMISSIONING GOAL
n ASHRAE Guideline 1 Goal: A fully functional,
fine-tuned HVAC system with complete
documentation and an adequately trained
operating and maintenance staff.
n Guideline 1.1: The Commissioning Process is
a quality-oriented process for achieving,
verifying, and documenting that the
performance of facilities, systems, and
assemblies meets defined objectives and
criteria.
Government’s GOAL
n Meet ASHRAE Guideline’s 1 goal and no
customer comments that we are turning over
a building that the HVAC system does not
work.
n Personal Priorities
1. Occupants are comfortable
2. System operates in most energy efficient
manner
3. Cost as low as possible (taxpayer)
CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS
n Commissioning Schedule & Cost
n Design deficiencies
n Construction deficiencies
n Product quality
n HVAC controls operation
n Energy
Cx Schedule & Cost
n From start of TAB to completion of
Functional Performance test 6 -12 wks
n Normally takes significantly longer mainly
due to Contractor’s not performing start-up
testing correctly or not at all
n Do not use the Performance Verification and
Functional Performance tests to find
problems
n Cost is usually 3 -5% of the Mechanical
Contractors bid
Design Deficiencies
n COE is no longer doing thorough 100%
design reviews of Design-Build Projects
n A/E’s are not using COE standard designs
and are making control sequences of
operation extremely complicated
n “Fast track” design is causing an enormous
increase in design errors on projects. In some
cases it has become Build -Design project
n Quality Control of the Design Documents has
been reduced by A/E firms due to time
constraints
Product Quality
n Quality Control at factories has decreased
with the recession
n Motors being wound with little or no QC
n One pump manufacturer would not back
efficiency ratings on their product sheets
n Brand new products out of the box are failing
more frequently. Examples: Control valves,
freeze stats, and controllers
HVAC Control operation
n The most important thing to do is the
Performance Verification Test (PVT)
n Standard RFP states, “The Contractor shall
perform a PVT under Government
supervision prior to system acceptance.
During the PVT the Contractor shall
demonstrate that the system performs as
specified, including but not limited to
demonstrating that the system is Open and
correctly performs the Sequences of
Operation”
HVAC Control operation cont’d
n The PVT procedure must be a step-by-step
procedure with expected outcomes
n Do a single point calibration test of all
transmitters
n Test every sequence of operation on every
control system
n Prior to start of PVT, controls contractor
needs to perform the same test as his start -
up test to ensure everything performs per the
Contract Documents
ENERGY
n RFP requires systems to achieve an energy
consumption that is at least 30% below the
consumption of a baseline building meeting the
minimum requirements of ASHRAE 90.1-2004
n RFP requires purchase of Energy Star products
n RFP requires building envelope sealing performance
to be tested to achieve less than .25 cfm leakage per
square foot of envelope at 0.3 “ w.g. pressure
n RFP requires infrared thermography be performed on
entire building
n RFP requires deep dehumidification through DOAU’s
that provide 24-7 ventilation air with 48 deg. F.
dewpoint
PROGRAM PHASE
n Contractor proposal should include
identification of the commissioning
authority and provide a preliminary
commissioning plan
PRELIMINARY
COMMISSIONING PLAN
n Initial Design Intent
n Time required for completion
n List of inspections to be made
n List of systems to be tested
DESIGN PHASE
n Document the design intent as it evolves
n Continue to develop Commissioning Plan
n Develop Commissioning Specification
n Prepare Contract Drawings
n Coordinate equipment layout
n Contractor’s that have CA on board
during design phase finish projects on
time with less design errors
CONSTRUCTION PHASE
n Procedures
• Submittal review
• Detailed Commissioning Plan
• Create specific procedures and checklists
• Inspections
• Use the CA as an additional set of eyes to
look at HVAC systems which will reduce
problems at end of project
CONSTRUCTION PHASE
n Commissioning Plan
• Detail schedule of inspections
• Develop schedule for verification and FPT
• Define process for reporting and correcting
deficiencies
• Detailed training sessions (training needs
to be improved including video taping)
ACCEPTANCE PHASE
n OBJECTIVES
• Verify accuracy of TAB report
• Verify HVAC control system complies with
contract
• Provide As-Builts
• Complete commissioning Report
• Complete systems manual
• Turn over building to owner
ACCEPTANCE PHASE
n Verification
• Demonstrate the function of the automatic
control system and accuracy of TAB report
n Functional Performance Testing
• Measured capacities, effectiveness of
operation and all control functions
• Documentation should include all
performance data for the entire HVAC
system for each mode of operation
ACCEPTANCE PHASE
n Functional Performance Testing
• Should progress from individual components
to the building systems
• Extended tests shall be in accordance with
contract documents and commissioning plan
• Simulations may be required
• Performance tests may be done at part load
conditions if full load cannot be achieved
ACCEPTANCE PHASE
n Documentation
• Verification checklist data sheets
• Verification report
• Certification of readiness
• Functional performance test data records
• System operation description and final
design intent
• Commissioning Report
ACCEPTANCE PHASE
n Final Acceptance
• Commissioning report
– HVAC system completed in accordance with
contract documents and performing in
accordance with final design intent document
– Identify any variances
– Used to evaluate system and serve as a future
reference document during operation
– May include recommendation for acceptance or
rejection of the HVAC system
– Submitted to owner
