Think of building commissioning as the report card for a building—commissioning agents check a building’s systems to make sure that the construction follows the design assignment and that systems are installed to operate as anticipated.
Demand for this kind of work is on the rise, and high-performance buildings are playing a significant role in the increase, according to a survey released last week by the Building Commissioning Association (BCA) and PECI. The report tallies responses from a survey of BCA’s National Conference on Building Commissioning attendees.
Respondents reported that demand for commissioning services has increased, per the chart below from the report.
High-performance design and construction is helping drive this trend, with 68 percent of respondents listing green building certifications such as LEED and Energy Star as a motivator for commissioning.
The use of more integrated design processes may also be playing a role, as respondents also indicated regular involvement at several stages of the building process: 86 percent of respondents are involved in pre-design and design for major projects, 83 percent worked on systems manuals, and 72 percent reported providing services through new building warranties.
And the growth is predicted to continue growing. Respondents anticipated a future increase in commissioning due to changing building and energy codes—56 percent believe code changes in their locales will lead to more commissioning business, and the same percent believe that it will increase commissioning specifically related to energy.
For complete results, see the full report here.
