LEEDuser’s viewpoint
Frank advice from LEED experts
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Implement, or have a contract in place to implement, the following additional commissioning process activities in addition to the requirements of EA Prerequisite 1: Fundamental Commissioning of Building Energy Systems and in accordance with the LEED Green Building Design and Construction Reference Guide, 2009 Edition Healthcare Supplement:
Option 1 (1 point)
- Prior to the start of the construction documents phase, designate an independent commissioning authority (CxA) to lead, review and oversee the completion of all commissioning process activities. The CxA shall, at a minimum, perform Tasks 2, 3, and 6. Other team members may perform Tasks 4 and 5.
- The CxA must have documented commissioning authority experience in at least two building projects.
- The individual serving as the CxA:
- Must be independent of the work of design and construction.
- Must not be an employee of the design firm, though he or she may be contracted through them.
- Must not be an employee of, or contracted through, a contractor or construction manager holding construction contracts.
- May be a qualified employee or consultant of the owner.
Option 2 (2 points)
Achieve OPTION 1 AND Commission the building’s thermal envelope systems in accordance with the requirements of Option 1. Commissioning of the building envelope shall be in accordance with ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005, the Commissioning Process, and National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) Guideline 3-2006, Exterior Enclosure Technical Requirements for the Commissioning Process. The building thermal envelope entails all exterior wall assemblies separating a building’s conditioned spaces from outdoor ambient conditions, including: roof assemblies, vapor barriers, diffusion retarders, air barrier systems, rain-screen layers, flashings, cladding and siding, windows, curtain-wall assemblies, doors, thermal bridges , and utility penetrations, such as piping, electrical conduit, duct-banks and other entry-points made for routing HVAC system components. For major renovations, substantial performance upgrades must be installed on at least 25% of the exterior envelope surface area. In support of the process requirements in Option 1, the following sequence of steps shall be taken to ensure an effective building thermal envelope commissioning process:- Convene meeting to review with the entire green building project team the goals and objectives of the process and coordinate/assign the related tasks.
- Conduct building thermal envelope design review.
- Develop thermal envelope commissioning work plan and schedule.
- Develop coordinated documentation plan.
- Ascertain functional performance test and inspection procedures (i.e. determine reference standards).
- Review thermal envelope components and assemblies mock-ups where relevant.
- Conduct scheduled field quality assurance inspections per work plan; document inspections.
- Inspect corrections of defects encountered during inspections.
- Prepare final report.
What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Frequently asked questions
|
Who can perform enhanced commissioning services? 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.) |
|
If my project uses a District Energy System (DES) is enhanced commissioning required for the DES? 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.) |
Addenda
Can a consultant perform both LEED consulting and act as an independent commissioning agent for the enhanced commissioning credit (EAc3)?
Yes, a consultant and/or consulting firm can perform both LEED consulting and independent commissioning (both Fundamental and Enhanced) as long as all requirements outlined in the Reference Guide Table 2." Commissioning Authority Qualifications" are met. Applicable internationally.
The LEED Rating system requirements for Enhanced Commissioning establish that “an independent commissioning authority (CxA) must lead, review, and oversee the completion of all commissioning process activities.” What specific responsibilities does this entail in a case where more than one CxA from separate companies are engaged to complete commissioning tasks?
The use of the phrase “lead, review, and oversee” defines a high level of participation while providing some flexibility for fitting the process to the project.
Therefore, at a minimum, the lead commissioning agent should be participating in ALL commissioning activities including BOTH fundamental and enhanced commissioning activities. The exact level of leading, reviewing, and overseeing can vary based on individual project scenarios. However, for enhanced commissioning, the entity selected as the lead CxA must complete the following tasks at a minimum:
Fundamental commissioning tasks to be performed by lead CxA:
• Review owner’s project requirements and basis of design during the early design phase.
• Confirm incorporation of Cx requirements into construction documents.
• Develop or approve construction checklists.
• Develop or approve system test procedures.
• Witness at least a portion of the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and (if applicable) renewable system functional testing that verifies installation and performance of commissioned systems. Refer to ASHRAE Guideline 0 for additional guidance.
• Review an issues log throughout the Cx process. If the CxA does not directly update the log, the CxA must approve all updates to the log.
• Report findings directly to the owner throughout the process.
• Develop or approve the summary commissioning report.
Enhanced Commissioning Tasks to be performed by lead CxA:
• Conduct commissioning design review prior to mid-construction documents.
• Review contractor submittals applicable to systems being commissioned.
• Develop or approve systems manual updates and delivery.
• Verify operator and occupant training delivery and effectiveness.
• Review building operation within 10 months after substantial completion.
The project is requesting guidance on how EAc3 Enhanced Commissioning, as well as EAc5 Measurement and Verification, can be pursued for projects utilizing government-owned district energy systems that can\'t comply the requirements outlined in the LEED DES guidelines. Following the guidelines, projects that meet certain criteria cannot obtain points for EAc3 or EAc5 if they earn points for EAc1 Optimize Energy Performance but are unable to commission or meter upstream DES equipment.The project consists of a manufacturing facility located in China. The facility utilizes district steam for heating. The district energy plant is owned and operated by the government. The facility is greater than 50,000 sf and the district energy system will account for about 30% of the building\'s annual energy cost. In addition to this, the project would like to pursue points under EAc1.Following the "Treatment of District or Campus Thermal Energy in LEED V2 and LEED 2009-Design & Construction" guidelines, the project would not be able to pursue Enhanced Commissioning while earning EAc1 points without commissioning upstream equipment at the DES plant. The same requirements also prevent the project from pursuing credit EAc5 Measurement and Verification without including the DES plant.Due to the strict and undisclosed nature of the government in China, obtaining information and specific numbers on the energy performance and maintenance of the DES equipment would not be possible, making the Enhanced Commissioning of all district energy system equipment unfeasible. The same problem applies to credit EAc5.Even if the DES plant was owned by a utility company, it is unlikely the utility would give the project team all of required the information and allow them to perform the activities outlined in the DES guidelines. The guidelines appear to apply only to owner-operated DESs rather than utility or government-operated DESs. Projects that utilize most district energy systems are disadvantaged by not being able to earn a total of five Energy & Atmosphere points for these two credits. Given that DESs are typically employed because of the increased efficiencies realized through economies of scale and varied user demand schedules and are often more efficient than if the same facility were to operate with individual systems in isolation, we feel the current guidance places an inordinate onerous on government-owned/operated systems. Given the information above, can government-owned upstream equipment included in the district energy system be excluded from the scope of both EAc3 and EAc5 under the DES guidelines so that projects can earn points for EAc3 and EAc5 while earning points for EAc1? Also, the DES guidelines state that LEED v2009 projects are not formally required to use the guidelines. Can the project choose to not use the guidelines and earn points for EAc3 and EAc5 in addition to EAc1?
If a project team is following the "District or Campus Thermal Energy in LEED V2 and LEED 2009-Design & Construction" (DESv2) guidelines, the project may not exclude the District Energy System from the requirements of EA Credit 3 and EA Credit 5.However, as indicated in Section 1.2 of the DESv2 guidelines, "LEED v2009 projects are not formally required to use this guidance". Therefore, the project team may elect to opt out of the DESv2 guidance. If the project team does opt out of the DESv2 guidance, the district energy for EA Prerequisite 2 and EA Credit 1 would be modeled as indicated in the ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G requirements, which state that purchased heating should be modeled in both the Baseline and Proposed Case systems. Furthermore, the upstream equipment would not be required to be accounted for in EA Credit 3 or EA Credit 5. Note that this methodology does not allow any credit for improved efficiency associated with upstream district energy equipment in EA Prerequisite 2 / EA Credit 1. Equivalent to ASHRAE 90.1 may be used.
This request is in regards to LEED Version 2009, EA Credit 3, Enhanced Commissioning, credit requirements. In particular, this is in regards to contracting situations such as Design Build and the hiring of the CxA for enhanced commissioning. In a design-build scenario, the A-E firm is hired by the contractor. With this in mind, can the CxA for enhanced commissioning (an independent 3rd party firm), be hired by the A-E firm who is in turn hired by the contractor? In this same scenario, the design-build contractor is providing services contracted to the Federal Government, who is the owner. Can a Federal employee, serve as the CxA for enhanced commissioning for the project?
In this design build scenario for a LEED NCv2009 project pursuing EAc3 Enhanced Commissioning, the A/E Firm is a subcontractor to the Contractor, forming a single Design Build Team. The A/E firm wishes to hire the CxA, but, as a result, the commissioning authority in this design build scenario would be considered a "disinterested employee or subcontractor of the contractor" and therefore not an acceptable commissioning authority for the project. Concerning whether the commissioning authority can be hired by the Architecture and Engineering (A/E) Firm, the document titled "Who Can be the Commissioning Authority" (http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1262) outlines the acceptable parties to act as the commissioning authority for various project scenarios.
Concerning whether it is acceptable for a federal employee to be the commissioning authority for a government project, the 2009 edition LEED Reference Guide for Green Building Design and Construction EA Prerequisite 1 Table 2. "Who Can be the Commissioning Authority" (Page 221) states that "independent consultants contracted by the owner" and "owner employees and staff" are allowed to be the commissioning authority when pursuing enhanced commissioning. Therefore, if the commissioning authority is hired by the owner, it is acceptable for a federal employee to be the commissioning authority for a government project.
**Update 07/01/2014: Ruling has been reversed and revised to allow the CxA to be contracted to the general contractor or a subcontractor of the general contractor in limited circumstances.
In the design build scenario, a ˜disinterested independent third party firm may be hired by the design build contractor or a subcontractor to the design build contractor under the following constraints:
1. The commissioning firm may not be a subsidiary or partner of the general contractor or of any other firm that has been contracted to the general contractor to provide design and construction services for the project.
2. Though the commissioning firm is not contracted directly to the owner, the owner or an owner's representative must approve of the selection of the commissioning firm, and of the commissioning scope of work within the commissioning contract.
3. The CxA must directly report to the owner or owner's representative (or simultaneously report to the owner or owner's representative and other parties) throughout the commissioning process.
As noted above, the CxA must lead, manage and oversee all commissioning processes, including both fundamental and enhanced commissioning, consistent with the requirements for EA Credit 3: Enhanced Commissioning.
Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
Get the inside scoop
Our editors have written a detailed analysis of nearly every LEED credit, and LEEDuser premium members get full access. We’ll tell you whether the credit is easy to accomplish or better left alone, and we provide insider tips on how to document it successfully.
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Implement, or have a contract in place to implement, the following additional commissioning process activities in addition to the requirements of EA Prerequisite 1: Fundamental Commissioning of Building Energy Systems and in accordance with the LEED Green Building Design and Construction Reference Guide, 2009 Edition Healthcare Supplement:
Option 1 (1 point)
- Prior to the start of the construction documents phase, designate an independent commissioning authority (CxA) to lead, review and oversee the completion of all commissioning process activities. The CxA shall, at a minimum, perform Tasks 2, 3, and 6. Other team members may perform Tasks 4 and 5.
- The CxA must have documented commissioning authority experience in at least two building projects.
- The individual serving as the CxA:
- Must be independent of the work of design and construction.
- Must not be an employee of the design firm, though he or she may be contracted through them.
- Must not be an employee of, or contracted through, a contractor or construction manager holding construction contracts.
- May be a qualified employee or consultant of the owner.
Option 2 (2 points)
Achieve OPTION 1 AND Commission the building’s thermal envelope systems in accordance with the requirements of Option 1. Commissioning of the building envelope shall be in accordance with ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005, the Commissioning Process, and National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) Guideline 3-2006, Exterior Enclosure Technical Requirements for the Commissioning Process. The building thermal envelope entails all exterior wall assemblies separating a building’s conditioned spaces from outdoor ambient conditions, including: roof assemblies, vapor barriers, diffusion retarders, air barrier systems, rain-screen layers, flashings, cladding and siding, windows, curtain-wall assemblies, doors, thermal bridges , and utility penetrations, such as piping, electrical conduit, duct-banks and other entry-points made for routing HVAC system components. For major renovations, substantial performance upgrades must be installed on at least 25% of the exterior envelope surface area. In support of the process requirements in Option 1, the following sequence of steps shall be taken to ensure an effective building thermal envelope commissioning process:- Convene meeting to review with the entire green building project team the goals and objectives of the process and coordinate/assign the related tasks.
- Conduct building thermal envelope design review.
- Develop thermal envelope commissioning work plan and schedule.
- Develop coordinated documentation plan.
- Ascertain functional performance test and inspection procedures (i.e. determine reference standards).
- Review thermal envelope components and assemblies mock-ups where relevant.
- Conduct scheduled field quality assurance inspections per work plan; document inspections.
- Inspect corrections of defects encountered during inspections.
- Prepare final report.
|
Who can perform enhanced commissioning services? 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.) |
|
If my project uses a District Energy System (DES) is enhanced commissioning required for the DES? 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.) |
Can a consultant perform both LEED consulting and act as an independent commissioning agent for the enhanced commissioning credit (EAc3)?
Yes, a consultant and/or consulting firm can perform both LEED consulting and independent commissioning (both Fundamental and Enhanced) as long as all requirements outlined in the Reference Guide Table 2." Commissioning Authority Qualifications" are met. Applicable internationally.
The LEED Rating system requirements for Enhanced Commissioning establish that “an independent commissioning authority (CxA) must lead, review, and oversee the completion of all commissioning process activities.” What specific responsibilities does this entail in a case where more than one CxA from separate companies are engaged to complete commissioning tasks?
The use of the phrase “lead, review, and oversee” defines a high level of participation while providing some flexibility for fitting the process to the project.
Therefore, at a minimum, the lead commissioning agent should be participating in ALL commissioning activities including BOTH fundamental and enhanced commissioning activities. The exact level of leading, reviewing, and overseeing can vary based on individual project scenarios. However, for enhanced commissioning, the entity selected as the lead CxA must complete the following tasks at a minimum:
Fundamental commissioning tasks to be performed by lead CxA:
• Review owner’s project requirements and basis of design during the early design phase.
• Confirm incorporation of Cx requirements into construction documents.
• Develop or approve construction checklists.
• Develop or approve system test procedures.
• Witness at least a portion of the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and (if applicable) renewable system functional testing that verifies installation and performance of commissioned systems. Refer to ASHRAE Guideline 0 for additional guidance.
• Review an issues log throughout the Cx process. If the CxA does not directly update the log, the CxA must approve all updates to the log.
• Report findings directly to the owner throughout the process.
• Develop or approve the summary commissioning report.
Enhanced Commissioning Tasks to be performed by lead CxA:
• Conduct commissioning design review prior to mid-construction documents.
• Review contractor submittals applicable to systems being commissioned.
• Develop or approve systems manual updates and delivery.
• Verify operator and occupant training delivery and effectiveness.
• Review building operation within 10 months after substantial completion.
The project is requesting guidance on how EAc3 Enhanced Commissioning, as well as EAc5 Measurement and Verification, can be pursued for projects utilizing government-owned district energy systems that can\'t comply the requirements outlined in the LEED DES guidelines. Following the guidelines, projects that meet certain criteria cannot obtain points for EAc3 or EAc5 if they earn points for EAc1 Optimize Energy Performance but are unable to commission or meter upstream DES equipment.The project consists of a manufacturing facility located in China. The facility utilizes district steam for heating. The district energy plant is owned and operated by the government. The facility is greater than 50,000 sf and the district energy system will account for about 30% of the building\'s annual energy cost. In addition to this, the project would like to pursue points under EAc1.Following the "Treatment of District or Campus Thermal Energy in LEED V2 and LEED 2009-Design & Construction" guidelines, the project would not be able to pursue Enhanced Commissioning while earning EAc1 points without commissioning upstream equipment at the DES plant. The same requirements also prevent the project from pursuing credit EAc5 Measurement and Verification without including the DES plant.Due to the strict and undisclosed nature of the government in China, obtaining information and specific numbers on the energy performance and maintenance of the DES equipment would not be possible, making the Enhanced Commissioning of all district energy system equipment unfeasible. The same problem applies to credit EAc5.Even if the DES plant was owned by a utility company, it is unlikely the utility would give the project team all of required the information and allow them to perform the activities outlined in the DES guidelines. The guidelines appear to apply only to owner-operated DESs rather than utility or government-operated DESs. Projects that utilize most district energy systems are disadvantaged by not being able to earn a total of five Energy & Atmosphere points for these two credits. Given that DESs are typically employed because of the increased efficiencies realized through economies of scale and varied user demand schedules and are often more efficient than if the same facility were to operate with individual systems in isolation, we feel the current guidance places an inordinate onerous on government-owned/operated systems. Given the information above, can government-owned upstream equipment included in the district energy system be excluded from the scope of both EAc3 and EAc5 under the DES guidelines so that projects can earn points for EAc3 and EAc5 while earning points for EAc1? Also, the DES guidelines state that LEED v2009 projects are not formally required to use the guidelines. Can the project choose to not use the guidelines and earn points for EAc3 and EAc5 in addition to EAc1?
If a project team is following the "District or Campus Thermal Energy in LEED V2 and LEED 2009-Design & Construction" (DESv2) guidelines, the project may not exclude the District Energy System from the requirements of EA Credit 3 and EA Credit 5.However, as indicated in Section 1.2 of the DESv2 guidelines, "LEED v2009 projects are not formally required to use this guidance". Therefore, the project team may elect to opt out of the DESv2 guidance. If the project team does opt out of the DESv2 guidance, the district energy for EA Prerequisite 2 and EA Credit 1 would be modeled as indicated in the ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G requirements, which state that purchased heating should be modeled in both the Baseline and Proposed Case systems. Furthermore, the upstream equipment would not be required to be accounted for in EA Credit 3 or EA Credit 5. Note that this methodology does not allow any credit for improved efficiency associated with upstream district energy equipment in EA Prerequisite 2 / EA Credit 1. Equivalent to ASHRAE 90.1 may be used.
This request is in regards to LEED Version 2009, EA Credit 3, Enhanced Commissioning, credit requirements. In particular, this is in regards to contracting situations such as Design Build and the hiring of the CxA for enhanced commissioning. In a design-build scenario, the A-E firm is hired by the contractor. With this in mind, can the CxA for enhanced commissioning (an independent 3rd party firm), be hired by the A-E firm who is in turn hired by the contractor? In this same scenario, the design-build contractor is providing services contracted to the Federal Government, who is the owner. Can a Federal employee, serve as the CxA for enhanced commissioning for the project?
In this design build scenario for a LEED NCv2009 project pursuing EAc3 Enhanced Commissioning, the A/E Firm is a subcontractor to the Contractor, forming a single Design Build Team. The A/E firm wishes to hire the CxA, but, as a result, the commissioning authority in this design build scenario would be considered a "disinterested employee or subcontractor of the contractor" and therefore not an acceptable commissioning authority for the project. Concerning whether the commissioning authority can be hired by the Architecture and Engineering (A/E) Firm, the document titled "Who Can be the Commissioning Authority" (http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1262) outlines the acceptable parties to act as the commissioning authority for various project scenarios.
Concerning whether it is acceptable for a federal employee to be the commissioning authority for a government project, the 2009 edition LEED Reference Guide for Green Building Design and Construction EA Prerequisite 1 Table 2. "Who Can be the Commissioning Authority" (Page 221) states that "independent consultants contracted by the owner" and "owner employees and staff" are allowed to be the commissioning authority when pursuing enhanced commissioning. Therefore, if the commissioning authority is hired by the owner, it is acceptable for a federal employee to be the commissioning authority for a government project.
**Update 07/01/2014: Ruling has been reversed and revised to allow the CxA to be contracted to the general contractor or a subcontractor of the general contractor in limited circumstances.
In the design build scenario, a ˜disinterested independent third party firm may be hired by the design build contractor or a subcontractor to the design build contractor under the following constraints:
1. The commissioning firm may not be a subsidiary or partner of the general contractor or of any other firm that has been contracted to the general contractor to provide design and construction services for the project.
2. Though the commissioning firm is not contracted directly to the owner, the owner or an owner's representative must approve of the selection of the commissioning firm, and of the commissioning scope of work within the commissioning contract.
3. The CxA must directly report to the owner or owner's representative (or simultaneously report to the owner or owner's representative and other parties) throughout the commissioning process.
As noted above, the CxA must lead, manage and oversee all commissioning processes, including both fundamental and enhanced commissioning, consistent with the requirements for EA Credit 3: Enhanced Commissioning.
