The City of Indian Wells’s retro-commisioning policy provides a guide to help city buildings operate well and efficiently, saving the city energy and money. The policy is available here; the policy document’s introduction is shared below.
Commissioning is the process of assuring that new buildings operate at peak efficiency. Retro‐ Commissioning is the process of tuning‐up an existing building in order to ensure proper operation of major equipment, proper indoor air quality, desired occupant comfort, and optimum energy consumption of existing equipment. Retro‐commissioning is a process that seeks to improve how building equipment and systems function together. Depending on the age of the building, retro‐commissioning can often resolve problems that occurred during design or construction, or address problems that have developed throughout the building’s life. In all, retro‐commissioning improves a building’s operations and maintenance (O&M) procedures to enhance overall building performance.
The Commissioning and Retro‐commissioning process is referred to as Cx/Cx/RCx in this document.
The Cx/Cx/RCx process consists of the following elements:
- Planning Phase
- Cx/Cx/RCx Service Provider Selection
- Baseline Requirements
- Project Boundaries
- Investigation Phase
- Savings and Economic Analysis
- Implementation Phase
- Functional Performance Testing Phase
- Facility Manager and Operator Training
- Project Reporting
- Measurement and Verification Phase
The Cx/Cx/RCx Policy is a key component in the Green for Life program. The Cx/Cx/RCx policy tiers off the City’s Benchmarking Policy, which addresses the benchmarking of buildings and the tracking of energy usage through the City’s Utility Manager Software system. The three parts of the program – benchmarking, utility management software and retro‐commissioning ‐‐ identify energy savings and cost cutting opportunities.