Retro-Commissioning And Campus Planning

Retro-Commissioning, as the first step in a campus sustainability strategy, can reduce energy use in college and university buildings by 10% or more, making it an essential ingredient for meeting greenhouse gas reduction goals. The details of retro-commissioning are discussed in the new white paper, “The First (Big) Step to Reducing Your Campus Carbon Footprint,” from EH&E Inc, an environmental engineering and consulting firm.

“We often find that while existing building systems may be operating in a fashion that maintains comfort and air quality, they are rarely performing to their designed effectiveness and efficiency without a periodic optimization, or commissioning, process,” says Mike Della Barba, director of commissioning services, EH&E, and author of the white paper.

“Since building energy use is such a large proportion of overall campus energy consumption, this optimization represents some immediate and significant energy savings.

“Colleges and universities across the country are making public commitments to reduce their campus carbon footprint significantly by eliminating wasteful energy consumption” says Della Barba.

“Retro-Commissioning, a ‘tune-up’ of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, provides the right context for energy conservation measures that are part of any campus sustainability plan,” he said.

In the white paper, Della Barba discusses:

  • How to improve building performance;
  • Performance improvement vs. energy reduction;
  • Prioritizing buildings for retro-commissioning;
  • The three-phase retro-commissioning process; and
  • Campus retro-commissioning strategy.

The white paper, “The First (Big) Step to Reducing Your Campus Carbon Footprint,” is available for download here: CampusRetroCx.pdf