Building Envelope Cx Checklist for LEED Documentation

I would certainly be willing to review anything you put together Joyce. I do think that using some of the items listed in v4 would help get the ID credit for v2009 that you indicate. You should be able to send me a message through my user profile on this site.

Please contribute your checklist, Joyce. I'm sure it would be helpful to many.

The reference guide makes no reference to building thermography. Since they include the 10 month re-visit, the CxA will find an opportunity for the right outdoor conditions to provide an accurate total building scan and analysis (in most climates). If the CxA has a certified thermographer and the equipment, they would lean toward doing this as a way to meet the great majority of what the credit is seeking to achieve. If a team goes this route, and turns that report in, what do you all think a reviewer will say? The language in the Reference Guide seems to include passive aspects (prevent interior glare, prevent unwanted solar gain). I am not sure how one does this (I assume mostly through design review). Any input on how one does this would also be appreciated. Thank you

Tom, it will be some time before we have the kind of experience with v4 reviews to know exactly what they will accept or do. Since v4 should expand the use of envelope commissioning, a very, very good thing by the way, the scope of work that will be appropriate will develop, just like it did for MEP commissioning. I have seen thermography used with great affect, and would think it is a good tool for this service. One thing that I have learned from the several project working with some very good envelope Cx people is that the secret sauce is in the design review, submittal reviews, and initial installation tests/checking. If the building fails the final blower door test, the next step is probably litigation, because rarely are fixes going to be easy or cheap. Maybe I should form a national association of envelope commissioning so I can be the executive director and get paid for all the advertising that I do for this service! Envelope commissioning is a major improvement of v4, and I hope all projects will consider implementing this service, it really works!

How do we know what tests are most relevant to meet the building envelope seasonal checks that form part of the LEED language.Its seems very vague.

Start with the Reference Guide and the standards it references.

I need to do a longer post on this, but envelope commissioning is not like MEP commissioning. There is a shared process and goals of course, but the action and benefits come from different places. Your two questions focus on tests, and good envelope commissioning is all about review and optimization BEFORE something is installed. Testing is then to confirm that the details were followed correctly. If a building fails an envelope test, then there is going to be major problems, angst, and possible litigation, because the fix is much more than replacing a sensor or changing a program. I strongly recommend you contact a qualified building science-based envelope commissioning firm to assist in your project. I have been doing Cx for a very, very long time and I would never put myself forward as an envelope commissioning agent; I do not have the expertise and training for this work.