HVAC Systems Commissioning Manual PDF Download

The HVAC Systems Commissioning Manual is intended to cover the full range of HVAC equipment and systems typically found in commercial and institutional buildings. The level of commissioning varies to suit the specific requirements of each project as determined by the owner.

The manual describes in detail the commissioning process for three different levels of commissioning.

The manual provides guidance on the use and application of the commissioning process in the green building rating systems developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). In addition, as an aid to users, it provides examples of delivery receipt, prestart checklists, and functional performance test checklists for many types of equipment and systems. These include:

• Hot water and steam boilers; with atmospheric or power burners; gas, oil, or combination gas/oil fired.
• Chillers; with reciprocating, scroll, screw, or centrifugal compressors; air-or water- cooled; with or without condensers; and including heat recovery models.
• Cooling towers, closed-circuit heat rejectors, and both air cooled and evaporative condensers.
• Hot water, chilled water, and condensing water pumps associated with the preceding.
• Constant volume, single zone air systems (including all components such as fans, coils, furnaces, condensing units, dampers, and controls, as applicable).
• Condensing boilers.
• Primary and secondary piping systems.
• Variable flow piping or pumping systems.
• Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems (including various components such as terminal units and Variable Frequency Drives (VFD)

Purpose

Since the publication of the first edition of this manual, the use of the commissioning process in the building construction industry has grown dramatically. Many organizations have made building commissioning "business as usual" on each construction project.

Building commissioning has been recognized as a critical process in the design, construction, and operation of a sustainable or "green" building.

While the commissioning process has been expanded to apply to other systems, e.g., fire alarm, security, electrical, building envelope, the primary focus of building commissioning remains on heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

First, HVAC systems are among the most complex and interconnected of building service systems. Second, considerable energy is consumed in HVAC systems. Inefficient operation increases operating cost. Third, HVAC systems must be designed properly, then installed, operated, maintained, and serviced correctly, if both comfort and indoor air quality are to be attained and maintained.

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide guidance to contractors on how an effective HVAC systems commissioning process should be planned and carried out. A second purpose is to provide a clear explanation of the reasons for commissioning to make it understandable for a broad cross section of the industry. Contractors who understand commissioning are in a position to sell its use to owners, designers, and others.

Another purpose of the manual is to provide guidance on commissioning HVAC systems in existing buildings. Any existing building with poor temperature control, dissatisfied occupants, excessive energy or maintenance costs, or other evidence of improper design or operation is a candidate for commissioning.

Because there are many existing buildings with these characteristics, and owners often contact contractors directly for remedial work on them, provision of commissioning services for these buildings is a potentially important field for knowledgeable contractors.

This manual covers commissioning during the construction phase of a project in considerable detail. It puts particular emphasis on the commissioning agent, the commissioning authority, the commissioning plan, communication and coordination during construction, and commissioning documentation. This is to give the clearest possible guidance to contractors and others whose involvement is primarily during the construction phase of a project.

In some cases, the contractor has the opportunity to join the process prior to the completion of design. When this occurs the contractor is able to contribute ideas and suggestions regarding quality and constructability during the design or predesign phases. Understanding the commissioning process enables the contractor to engage more effectively early on.

This manual does not provide material specific to any particular building.

The material within is intended to cover the entire commissioning process, providing not only organizational and procedural steps, but also the rationale behind them. This assists users of the manual to adapt the information to the successful commissioning of any type of building project.