The scopes of the building envelope commissioning (BECx) work today are quite varied from project to project, building owner to owner, and building type to type. Construction sequencing is effected to some degree, but what is gained in increasing the performance of the building envelope and increased energy efficiency seems to be worth the additional time, effort, and cost. The current push for commissioning is primarily driven to make buildings use less energy, but additional benefits are gained with improved indoor air quality and occupant comfort, as well as the probable increased longevity of the building. A laboratory building seems to be an ideal candidate for BECx. I have done some retro commissioning on laboratory buildings that the owner wanted to improve the energy efficiency.
There is a lot of common QA/QC work on the building envelope that are a standard part of the modern construction process, such as exterior wall mock-up testing and onsite inspections and performance testing. The new building code requirements for air barriers and continuous insulation are also a part of achieving better performing building enclosures. Check out what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is requiring for their new building construction projects in the way of BECx. Air barrier performance is their current main focus.
I believe that the BECx process must start with the Owner's desires, needs, and requirements. The Architect then must deliver a commission-able building enclosure design, and the contractors must effectively execute the design. The Cx process is just a method to verify everything works as intended.
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[George] [Blackburn] [AIA]
[General Manager]
[Construction Consulting International]
[Carrollton] [Texas]
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-19-2015 09:41
From: Severn Clay-Youman
Subject: Envelope Commissioning?
I would like to hear some experiences from a design architect perspective - we're currently evaluating envelope commissioning for a lab building.
How big an effect did it have on construction sequencing? What sort of benchmarks were you trying to meet? How effective do you feel it was in the big picture?
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Severn Clay-Youman AIA
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Brooklyn NY
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