Log in
LEED v4
Existing Buildings
Energy and Atmosphere

Ongoing commissioning

LEED CREDIT

EBOM-v4 EAc3: Ongoing commissioning 3 points

See all forum discussions about this credit »

SPECIAL REPORT

LEEDuser expert

Dave Hubka

LEED Fellow

EUA
Practice Leader - Sustainability

SPECIAL REPORT

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

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Establishment

Meet the requirements of EA Credit Existing Building Commissioning–Analysis and EA Credit Existing Building Commissioning–Implementation. Establish an ongoing commissioning process that includes planning, point monitoring, system testing, performance verification, corrective action response, ongoing measurement, and documentation to proactively address operating problems in the systems being commissioned. Develop an on-going commissioning plan that defines the following:
  • roles and responsibilities;
  • measurement requirements (meters, points, metering systems, data access);
  • the points to be tracked, with frequency and duration for trend monitoring;
  • the limits of acceptable values for tracked points and metered values;
  • the review process that will be used to evaluate performance;
  • an action plan for identifying and correcting operational errors and deficiencies
  • planning for repairs needed to maintain performance;
  • the frequency of analyses in the first year (at least quarterly); and
  • the subsequent analysis cycle (at least every 24 months).

Performance

Apply the requirements below to all direct energy-consuming or energy-producing systems, including lighting, process loads, HVAC&R, domestic water heating, and renewable energy.
  • Update the systems manual with any modifications or new settings, and give the reason for any modifications from the original design. Define methods for improving operations and maintenance.
  • Include quarterly reports during the first year of implementation and annual reports on the performance of building systems.
Continue to update the facility’s operating and maintenance plan and current facilities requirements to reflect actual conditions and issue annual revisions of these documents. Only activities associated with ongoing commissioning completed within two years of the LEED application may be included to show progress. See all forum discussions about this credit »

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

We have over 500 VAV boxes in our building. Do we have complete testing for each one every two years?

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.)

See all forum discussions about this credit »

Addenda

1/27/2017Updated: 1/27/2017
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under "Group Approach" replace the sentence "All buildings in the group may be documented as one" with the following text: "Documentation may be combined provided it addresses each building individually."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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.

LEEDuser expert

Dave Hubka

LEED Fellow

EUA
Practice Leader - Sustainability

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.

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Establishment

Meet the requirements of EA Credit Existing Building Commissioning–Analysis and EA Credit Existing Building Commissioning–Implementation. Establish an ongoing commissioning process that includes planning, point monitoring, system testing, performance verification, corrective action response, ongoing measurement, and documentation to proactively address operating problems in the systems being commissioned. Develop an on-going commissioning plan that defines the following:
  • roles and responsibilities;
  • measurement requirements (meters, points, metering systems, data access);
  • the points to be tracked, with frequency and duration for trend monitoring;
  • the limits of acceptable values for tracked points and metered values;
  • the review process that will be used to evaluate performance;
  • an action plan for identifying and correcting operational errors and deficiencies
  • planning for repairs needed to maintain performance;
  • the frequency of analyses in the first year (at least quarterly); and
  • the subsequent analysis cycle (at least every 24 months).

Performance

Apply the requirements below to all direct energy-consuming or energy-producing systems, including lighting, process loads, HVAC&R, domestic water heating, and renewable energy.
  • Update the systems manual with any modifications or new settings, and give the reason for any modifications from the original design. Define methods for improving operations and maintenance.
  • Include quarterly reports during the first year of implementation and annual reports on the performance of building systems.
Continue to update the facility’s operating and maintenance plan and current facilities requirements to reflect actual conditions and issue annual revisions of these documents. Only activities associated with ongoing commissioning completed within two years of the LEED application may be included to show progress.

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

We have over 500 VAV boxes in our building. Do we have complete testing for each one every two years?

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.)

1/27/2017Updated: 1/27/2017
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under "Group Approach" replace the sentence "All buildings in the group may be documented as one" with the following text: "Documentation may be combined provided it addresses each building individually."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes

LEEDuser expert

Dave Hubka

LEED Fellow

EUA
Practice Leader - Sustainability

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about EBOM-v4 EAc3