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LEED v2009
Schools
Energy and Atmosphere
Fundamental Commissioning of Building Energy Systems

LEED CREDIT

Schools-2009 EAp1: Fundamental Commissioning of Building Energy Systems Required

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Integrated Design + Energy Advisors, LLC
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

The following commissioning process activities must be completed by the project team:

  • Designate an individual as the commissioning authority (CxA) to lead, review and oversee the completion of the commissioning process activities.
    • The CxA must have documented commissioning authority experience in at least 2 building projects.
    • The individual serving as the CxA must be independent of the project’s design and construction management, though the CxA may be an employee of any firms providing those services. The CxA may be a qualified employee or consultant of the owner.
    • The CxA must report results, findings and recommendations directly to the owner.
    • For projects smaller than 50,000 gross square feet (4,500 gross square meters), the CxA may be a qualified person on the design or construction teams who has the required experience.
  • The owner must document the owner’s project requirements. The design team must develop the basis of design. The CxA must review these documents for clarity and completeness. The owner and design team must be responsible for updates to their respective documents.
  • Develop and incorporate commissioning requirements into the construction documents.
  • Develop and implement a commissioning plan.
  • Verify the installation and performance of the systems to be commissioned.
  • Complete a summary commissioning report.
Commissioned Systems
Commissioning process activities must be completed for the following energy-related systems, at a minimum (if they are installed as part of the core and shell project):
  • Heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems (mechanical and passive) and associated controls.
  • Lighting and daylighting controls.
  • Domestic hot water systems.
  • Renewable energy systems (e.g. wind, solar).
Credit substitution available
You may use the LEED v4 version of this credit on v2009 projects. For more information check out this article.
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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Cost estimates for this credit

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Frequently asked questions

Can the CxA authority be a member of the design or construction team?

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What type of certification is the commissioning agent required to have?

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The comissioning process turned up a few issues with the commissioned systems that should be corrected. Do we have to correct these issues and include documentation of that as part of our LEED documentation?

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See all forum discussions about this credit »

Checklists

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Documentation toolkit

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Credit achievement rate

XX%

Upgrade to LEEDuser Premium to see how many projects achieved this credit. Try it free »

LEEDuser expert

Scott Bowman

Integrated Design + Energy Advisors, LLC
LEED Fellow

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USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

The following commissioning process activities must be completed by the project team:

  • Designate an individual as the commissioning authority (CxA) to lead, review and oversee the completion of the commissioning process activities.
    • The CxA must have documented commissioning authority experience in at least 2 building projects.
    • The individual serving as the CxA must be independent of the project’s design and construction management, though the CxA may be an employee of any firms providing those services. The CxA may be a qualified employee or consultant of the owner.
    • The CxA must report results, findings and recommendations directly to the owner.
    • For projects smaller than 50,000 gross square feet (4,500 gross square meters), the CxA may be a qualified person on the design or construction teams who has the required experience.
  • The owner must document the owner’s project requirements. The design team must develop the basis of design. The CxA must review these documents for clarity and completeness. The owner and design team must be responsible for updates to their respective documents.
  • Develop and incorporate commissioning requirements into the construction documents.
  • Develop and implement a commissioning plan.
  • Verify the installation and performance of the systems to be commissioned.
  • Complete a summary commissioning report.
Commissioned Systems
Commissioning process activities must be completed for the following energy-related systems, at a minimum (if they are installed as part of the core and shell project):
  • Heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems (mechanical and passive) and associated controls.
  • Lighting and daylighting controls.
  • Domestic hot water systems.
  • Renewable energy systems (e.g. wind, solar).
Credit substitution available
You may use the LEED v4 version of this credit on v2009 projects. For more information check out this article.

XX%

Upgrade to LEEDuser Premium to see how many projects achieved this credit. Try it free »

Got the gist of EAp1 but not sure how to actually achieve it? LEEDuser gives step-by-step help. Premium members get:

  • Checklists covering all the key action steps you'll need to earn the credit.
  • Hot tips to give you shortcuts and avoid pitfalls.
  • Cost tips to assess what a credit will actually cost, and how to make it affordable.
  • Ideas for going beyond LEED with best practices.
  • All checklists organized by project phase.
  • On-the-fly suggestions of useful items from the Documentation Toolkit and Credit Language.

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

Can the CxA authority be a member of the design or construction team?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

What type of certification is the commissioning agent required to have?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

The comissioning process turned up a few issues with the commissioned systems that should be corrected. Do we have to correct these issues and include documentation of that as part of our LEED documentation?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

LEEDuser expert

Scott Bowman

Integrated Design + Energy Advisors, LLC
LEED Fellow

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about Schools-2009 EAp1