Commissioning Resource Center

The Commissioning & Technical Services Resource Library is a knowledge center filled with technical resources including guidelines, tools, presentations, research papers, and user reviews of our programs and processes. Materials are added to this library as they become available for the public.

New Construction Commissioning
Guides, Case Studies, and Overviews

California Commissioning Guide: New Buildings

Prepared by PECI for the California Commissioning Collaborative, 2006. A comprehensive guide to the building commissioning process written by building owners, managers, and operators that is helpful as a cover-to-cover read or as a resource on specific topics.

Functional Testing and Control System Design Guides

Developed by PECI, updated 2006. The Functional Testing Guide provides a practical understanding of fundamentals and field tips for functional testing, and is linked to several integrated resources. The Control System Design Guide provides information on improving control system design and specifications for HVAC designers.

Strategies for Improving Persistence of Commissioning Benefits

PECI Technical Paper, 2003. Published under the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research’s High Performance Commercial Building Systems Program, this guide highlights seven key methods for improving persistence of the benefits gained through commissioning.

Commissioning For Better Buildings in Oregon

Oregon Office of Energy / PECI, 1997. New construction overview, benefits, process and case studies. (44 pp.)

Energy Design Resources Commissioning Guideline

Prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company by PECI, 2001. Includes an Introduction to Commissioning for New Construction, Commissioning Guide for Design Professionals, and Appendices of Sample Commissioning Documents.

What Can Commissioning Do For Your Building?

PECI, 1997. This colorful, informative brochure is designed to help commissioning providers sell their services to owners and is derived from a database of 175 case studies of commissioning of new construction, equipment replacements, and upgrades in existing facilities, and “tune-up” work for existing facilities. This document presents the costs and benefits demonstrated by these case studies. (12 pp.) (PDF 10MB)

Building Commissioning Guide

U.S. General Services Administration and USDOE, 1995, revised in 2005. Version 1 by Enviro-Management & Research, Inc. (15.45MB)

The Building Commissioning Handbook, Second Edition

John A. Heinz and Rick Casault, 2004. Available for purchase through the Building Commissioning Association.

Technical Papers, Tools, and Templates

Model Commissioning Plan and Guide Specifications (v2.05)

Prepared by PECI for the US DOE and the Oregon Dept of Energy, 1998. Details the commissioning process for new equipment during both the design and construction phases. Also provides boilerplate language, content, format, and forms for specifying and executing commissioning.

Functional Testing and Control System Design Guides

Developed by PECI, updated September 2006. The Functional Testing Guide provides a practical understanding of fundamentals and field tips for functional testing and is linked to several integrated resources: the Functional Testing Checklist Tool, Functional Test Directory, and Control System Design Guide. The Control System Design Guide provides information on improving control system design and specifications for HVAC designers.

Trend Data Analysis and Visual Presentation of Data

PECI Technical Paper, 2009. (PDF 191kB)

Commissioning of Smaller Green Buildings—Expectations vs. Reality

PECI Technical Paper, 2002. (PDF 172kB)

Commissioning to Meet Green Expectations

PECI Technical Paper, 2000. (PDF 180kB)

Commissioning Control Valves

PECI Technical Paper, 2000. (PDF 75kB)

Commissioning Cooling Towers

PECI Technical Paper, 2002. (PDF 58kB)

Commissioning to Meet Space Qualification Criteria vs. Energy Consumption Optimization Focused Commissioning

PECI Technical Paper, 2000. (PDF 3.1MB)

Dampers: Good Commissioning Begins at Design

PECI Technical Paper, 2000. (PDF 4.6MB)

The Top 10 Commissioning Issues and How to Deal with Them — Module 10: Filtration Issues

PECI Technical Presentation, NCBC 2002. (PDF 2.2MB)

If You Can Get it Right on Paper, it will Probably Be Right in the Field, or Why Design Phase Commissioning Makes Good Sense for Health Care Facilities

PECI Technical Paper. (PDF 164kB)

Making Energy Intensive HVAC Processes More Sustainable via Low Temperature Heat Recovery

PECI Technical Paper, 2002. (PDF 215kB)

An Overview of Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative Control and Suggestions for Its Successful Application and Implementation

PECI Technical Paper. (PDF 2.3MB)

The Versatile Valve for HVAC Applications

PECI Technical Paper, 2002. (PDF 531kB)

A Comparison of the Ventilation Rates Established by Three Common Building Codes in Relationship to Actual Occupancy Levels and the Impact of these Rates on Building Energy Consumption

PECI Technical Paper, 2002. (PDF 184kB)

Market and Policy

National Strategy for Building Commissioning

PECI, 1998. A national commissioning strategy that seeks to overcome the obstacles that have prevented commissioning from becoming business as usual. (PDF 101kB)

Establishing Commissioning Costs

PECI 2002. A summary of information on the costs of new construction commissioning, with attention to building complexity and size. (PDF 144kB)

Persistence of Benefits from New Building Commissioning

PECI Technical Paper, 2003. (PDF 240kB)

Using the Commissioning Toolset

HPAC editorial, September 2003. An argument for the need of building commissioning to achieve integration, quality, efficiency, and persistence. (PDF 42kB)

Retrocommissioning
Guides, Case Studies, and Overviews

A Retrocommissioning Guide for Building Owners

Developed by PECI in 2007 with funding from the US EPA ENERGY STAR^® Program. This comprehensive guide covers the business case for retrocommissioning and describes the process step-by-step, including key strategies for success, helpful resources, and an Appendix of templates and samples. (PDF 2.3 MB)

California Commissioning Guide: Existing Buildings

Prepared by PECI, 2006. This guide is drawn from and synthesizes several existing guides on commissioning and retrocommissioning. The guide is targeted to building owners and managers, but it provides a thorough foundation on the benefits and costs of retrocommissioning, how a retrocommissioning team operates, and what to expect during the retrocommissioning process.

California Commissioning Collaborative Case Studies

Forty-four commissioning and retrocommissioning case studies from around the US.

Practical Guide for Commissioning Existing Buildings

Tudi Haasl and Terry Sharp, 1999. One of the most-used guides on applying commissioning to existing buildings. Includes a summary of commissioning terminology, details on roles of team members, and the phases of retrocommissioning.

White Paper: Retrocommissioning Your Building for Savings

A short white paper written to specifically assist building owners and operators in understanding the benefits of retrocommissioning.

Example Retrocommissioning Measures

Examples to help building owners and operators better understand retrocommissioning findings.

BetterBricks Case Studies

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. Fourteen commissioning and retrocommissioning case studies from the Northwest.

Building Commissioning: The Key to Quality Assurance

US Department of Energy Rebuild America Guide Series: USDOE Rebuild America/PECI., 1998. Commissioning retrofits and existing buildings: overview, process and case studies. (68 pp.) (PDF 1.0MB)

Guidelines for Incorporating Commissioning into Energy Savings Performance Contracts

PECI, 2000. Provides guidance for integrating commissioning into performance contract projects. (PDF 260kB)

Retrocommissioning Case Studies:

Technical Papers, Tools, and Templates

Functional Testing and EBCx: An Overview of Best Practices and Available Resources

PECI Technical Paper, 2010. This paper presents benefits and best practices related to functional performance testing, with an emphasis on utility existing building commissioning programs. (PDF 588kB)

Blank Functional Test Form

Retrocommissioning Tool Kit and Sample Documents

California Commissioning Collaborative. Includes standardized spreadsheet tools as well as sample and template documents (RFP, owner’s operating requirements, Cx plan, final report, and others).

Appropriate Use of Third Parties in the Existing Building Commissioning Process — An In-house Approach to Retrocommissioning

Tudi Haasl, et al.

Retrocommissioning's Greatest Hits

PECI Technical Paper. (PDF 198kB)

Applying Building Selection Criteria for Maximum Results

PECI Technical Paper. (PDF 269kB)

Comparative Guide to Emerging Diagnostic Tools for Large Commercial HVAC Systems

PECI Technical Paper, 2001. (PDF 1.4MB)

Using Extended Surface Air Filters in Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems: Reducing Utility and Maintenance Costs while Benefiting the Environment

PECI Technical Paper. (PDF 200kB)

Using Utility Bills and Average Daily Energy Consumption to Target Commissioning Efforts and Track Building Performance

PECI Technical Paper. (PDF 310kB)

The Relationship Between Duct Aspect Ratio and Sustainability

PECI Technical Presentation, 2002. (PDF 276kB)

2008 NCBC Town Hall White Paper

This white paper summarizes the state of the industry as revealed in the Town Hall, and offers a collective vision for the future of commissioning. This is intended to be the first step in developing a plan of action for the next 10 years. (PDF 116kB)

Market and Policy

The Cost-Effectiveness of Commercial-Buildings Commissioning: A Meta-Analysis of Energy and Non-Energy Impacts in Existing Buildings and New Construction in the United States

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, PECI, and Energy Systems Laboratory, Texas A&M University, 2004. A study of commissioning and retrocommissioning projects with summary statistics.

Retrocommissioning: Program Strategies to Capture Energy Savings in Existing Buildings

This ACEEE paper describes retrocommissioning, market barriers to retrocommissioning, and synthesizes past and current efforts (through 2003) to promote retrocommissioning.

Operations & Maintenance

Energy Management Systems: A Practical Guide

PECI, 1997. A guidebook covering a range of topics including evaluating an existing EMS; specifying and selecting a new EMS; service contracts for EMS; using EMS for operational diagnostics; and sample control specification language. (PDF 4.4MB)

Fifteen O&M Best Practices: For Energy-Efficient Buildings

PECI, 1999. An overview of fifteen O&M best practices that building owners and managers can employ to make their buildings more energy-efficient, divided into four major categories: management, teamwork, resources, and energy-efficient. (PDF 1.1MB)

Operation and Maintenance Assessments: A Best Practice for Energy-Efficient Building Operations, PECI, 1999

Significant low-cost savings in energy and staff time as well as other non-energy benefits can be realized through operation assessments and building tune-ups. The guide provides information on how to plan and orchestrate the process. (PDF 1.7MB)

Operation and Maintenance Service Contracts: Guidelines for Obtaining Best-Practice Contracts for Commercial Buildings

PECI, 1997. Frequently, building owners and managers outsource O&M services for their building systems. This publication provides an overview of current outsourcing trends and options, with guidelines for obtaining and managing service contracts. (PDF 2.4MB)

Portable Dataloggers: Diagnostic Monitoring Tools for Energy-Efficient Building Operation

PECI, 1999.A guide on how to use portable dataloggers to monitor and diagnose building systems. (PDF 1.0MB)

Putting the “O” Back in O&M Best Practices in Preventive Operations, Tracking, and Scheduling

PECI, 1999. To help ensure that building efficiency persists, this guide addresses preventative operation and maintenance techniques, steps for tracking system performance and following up on issues, and common scheduling issues. (PDF 644kB)

Tuned Up for Success

A brochure that summarizes the processes and results of the five commercial and retail facilities that participated in the Building Tune-Up Demonstration Project conducted by US EPA and US DOE. (8 pp.) (PDF 1.6MB)

Continuous Commissioning Guidebook for Federal Managers, Federal Energy Management Program

2002. Prepared by the Energy Systems Laboratory, Texas A&M and the University of Nebraska. This guidebook presents a comprehensive and ongoing process to resolve operating problems, improve comfort, optimize energy use, and identify retrofits for existing commercial and institutional buildings and central plant facilities.

Other Resources

California Commissioning Collaborative (CCC)

The Commissioning Library houses over 400 articles, papers, guides, and commissioning research. The Library covers a wide variety of commissioning topics and research areas, and most documents can be downloaded at no cost. Includes NCBC papers from 2001-2004.
The new RCx Toolkit includes samples and templates: RFP, scope of work, Cx plan, issues log, final report, and others.

National Conference on Building Commissioning(NCBC)

Produced by PECI. Review Conference papers from 2005 to present. (Note that 2001-2004 proceedings are available through the California Commissioning Collaborative, above.)

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

(ASHRAE) This website has a wealth of industry related information and publications available for purchase including all ASHRAE Guidelines. Many of the items can be downloaded in PDF format.

Top 5 Resources

Commissioning Resource Center

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New Construction Commissioning Guides, Case Studies, and Overviews

Technical Papers, Tools, and Templates

Market and Policy

Retrocommissioning Guides, Case Studies, and Overviews

Retrocommissioning Case Studies:

Technical Papers, Tools, and Templates

Market and Policy

Operations & Maintenance

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National and International Organizations

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New Construction Commissioning
Guides, Case Studies, and Overviews

Retrocommissioning
Guides, Case Studies, and Overviews