Discover how the upfront costs of building commissioning pay for themselves over time by enhancing energy efficiency and performance. Expert insights for LEED GA exam prep.
Table of Contents
Question
The cost of Commissioning (Cx) Is often repaid with
A. advanced energy metering
B. renewable power management
C. recovered energy performance
D. enhanced refrigerant management
Answer
C. recovered energy performance
Explanation
The cost of commissioning (Cx) is often repaid with recovered energy performance. Commissioning is a process of verifying and documenting that a building and its systems meet the design intent and the owner’s project requirements.
Commissioning can help improve the energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and occupant satisfaction of a building. According to a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, commissioning can result in median energy savings of 13% for existing buildings and 16% for new construction, with payback times of 1.1 years and 4.2 years, respectively. Therefore, commissioning can be a cost-effective investment that pays off with reduced energy consumption and costs over the life cycle of a building.
Building commissioning (Cx) is a quality-assurance process that verifies and documents that a building’s systems are installed and operating as intended to meet the owner’s requirements. While commissioning does have an upfront cost, those initial expenses are often repaid over time through recovered energy performance.
Commissioning helps ensure that building systems like HVAC, lighting, plumbing, and electrical are operating at peak efficiency. This enhanced operational performance translates into reduced energy consumption and utility costs throughout the life of the building. Studies have shown that commissioning typically leads to 13% median whole-building energy savings, with even greater savings of 16% for energy-intensive systems like cooling.
So while options A (advanced energy metering), B (renewable power management), and D (enhanced refrigerant management) can all contribute to a building’s sustainability, commissioning is the process that most directly “pays for itself” over time through the energy efficiency and cost savings it enables. The recovered energy performance achieved through Cx is what offsets and surpasses the initial commissioning costs.
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