Mandatory Commissioning For All Buildings Proposed

Commissioning for all buildings designed and built under a green building standard from ASHRAE, the US Green Building Council and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) would become mandatory under a new proposal open for public input. ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2011 for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, covers key topical areas of site sustainability, water-use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.

A proposed addendum would remove the “Acceptance Testing” provision for small buildings. The proposed addendum is open for public review from Oct. 19-Nov. 18, 2012.

Currently the standard implies that when a building area is less than 5,000 square feet it is considered to have simple building systems, and thus requires a reduced level of commissioning effort, referred to as Acceptance Testing. Under the proposed addendum, building commissioning becomes mandatory for all buildings that are designed and built under the requirements of the standard.

Under the current Acceptance Testing section, Standard 189.1 would not meet the minimum commissioning prerequisite of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which requires all buildings to undergo the commissioning process.