Calculating the ROI of building enclosure commissioning

According to Evan Mills, PhD, a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, building enclosure commissioning, or BECx, should be viewed as “the single-most cost-effective strategy for reducing energy, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings today.”

(This article excerpted from BD+C's June 2013 AIA/CES course on cladding and exterior insulation. Take this free course at BD+C University.)

Mills studied the benefits of BECx, noting that commissioning only costs about $1.16/sf for new construction and $0.30/sf for existing buildings on average, with a payback period of as little as 14 months. Savings associated with using BECx from both maintenance and energy savings average about 16% for existing buildings and 13% for new construction. The main benefit is that whole-building energy savings are guaranteed, thanks to the pivotal role of the enclosure in determining efficiency performance.

“Further enhancing the value of commissioning, its non-energy benefits surpass those of most other energy-management practices,” including major first-cost savings through right-sizing of HVAC equipment, Mills has testified. “When accounting for these benefits, the net median commissioning project cost was reduced by 49% on average, while in many cases they exceeded the direct value of the energy savings.”

The National Institute of Building Sciences published its NIBS Guideline 3-2012 on enclosure commissioning last year. The U.S. Green Building Council has allowed the application of BECx to earn an innovation credit in the LEED rating system, and BECx was even considered as a prerequisite, but that proposal lost momentum, says Rob Kistler, AIA, NCARB, Committee Chair for NIBS Guideline 3 and Principal, The Facade Group.

It appears that LEED v4 will not explicitly encourage the detail review, onsite testing, and observation that some enclosure experts say is what makes BECx effective, notes Tristan Roberts, with BuildingGreen’s LEEDUser service. Instead, the new LEED draft language directly quotes NIBS Guideline 3, which describes the following techniques as part of proper BECx for enhanced building commissioning:

• Devise a plan early in the project cycle that describes testing requirements, acceptance criteria, and documentation.

• Review details in the construction documentation to check for overall performance, continuity of weather barriers and insulation, and constructability.

• Conduct observations on the job site as required for critical milestones in enclosure installation, from field mockups to trades startup to field testing.

• Use mockups to benchmark workmanship requirements and ensure compliance with specifications and manufacturer’s installation requirements.

The NIBS committee for BECx, which Altenhofen serves on, recommends including a consulting enclosure expert for the building project, especially in the construction administration phase. The expert will help ensure proposed cladding materials and systems are integrated properly into the design process, followed by visual observations of a statistical sampling of installation of work. Toward the end of the CA phase and before acceptance, a blower-door test will check whether the air infiltration levels are equal to or better than standard.

As noted in the summary of NIBS Guideline 3, BECx helps reduce the chances that inadequate cladding work will be discovered during the punch list phase: “The performance of the enclosure cannot be verified until the entire building is completely enclosed. At this time it is not possible to tune or dial in the performance. To access a nonperforming subsystem or assembly might be very expensive.”

(This article excerpted from BD+C's June 2013 AIA/CES course on cladding and exterior insulation. Take this free course at BD+C University.)

Long-span composite floor systems provide unique advantages in the construction of multi-family and hospitality facilities. This introductory course explains what composite deck is, how it works, what typical composite deck profiles look like and provides guidelines for using composite floor systems. This is a nano unit course.

Concrete buildings: Effective solutions for restorations and major repairs

Architectural concrete as we know it today was invented in the 19th century. It reached new heights in the U.S. after World War II when mid-century modernism was in vogue, following in the footsteps of a European aesthetic that expressed structure and permanent surfaces through this exposed material. Concrete was treated as a monolithic miracle, waterproof and structurally and visually versatile.

Urban Planning | Jan 25, 2022

Retooling innovation districts for medium-sized cities

This type of development isn’t just about innovation or lab space; and it’s not just universities or research institutions that are driving this change.

IMAGE_1_Norshield_high securitywindows_ and_doors

Norshield Products Fortify Critical NYC Infrastructure

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.

Blast Hazard Mitigation: Building Openings for Greater Safety and Security

Advances and Challenges in Improving Indoor Air Quality HorizonTV

Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022

Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings

Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.

Architects | Jan 17, 2022

OSPORTS adds Robert Hayes to lead operational and business development efforts

Hayes will guide the OSPORTS organization in its mission to offer a unique perspective to designing world-class facilities.

One of the sound stages that Relativity Architects has designed for Ace + Mission Studios in Los Angeles. Image: Relativity Architects

Architects | Jan 13, 2022

Hollywood is now the Stream Factory

Insatiable demand for original content, and its availability on a growing number of streaming platforms, have created shortages — and opportunities — for new sound stages.

Architects | Jan 13, 2022

Robert Eisenstat and Paul Mankins receive 2022 AIA Award for Excellence in Public Architecture

The award recognizes architects, public officials, or other individuals who design distinguished public facilities and advocate for design excellence.

3D Printing | Jan 12, 2022

Using 3D-printed molds to create unitized window forms

COOKFOX designer Pam Campbell and Gate Precast's Mo Wright discuss the use of 3D-printed molds from Oak Ridge National Lab to create unitized window panels for One South First, a residential-commercial high-rise in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Currently Reading

Calculating the ROI of building enclosure commissioning

Tags

Sponsored | Steel Buildings | Jan 25, 2022

Sponsored | Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 25, 2022

Urban Planning | Jan 25, 2022

Sponsored | Resiliency | Jan 24, 2022

Sponsored | Resiliency | Jan 24, 2022

Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022

Architects | Jan 17, 2022

Architects | Jan 13, 2022

Architects | Jan 13, 2022

3D Printing | Jan 12, 2022

Most Popular Content

Magazine Subscription

Get our Newsletters

Follow BD+C: