December 19, 2013
However you spend your holidays, from everyone at CFMS, we wish you a very happy and safe holiday. And we look forward to reconnecting with everyone in the New Year.
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December 10, 2013
With Christmas and a New Year just around the corner, CFMS is reflecting on the importance of friendships at work.
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November 14, 2013
CFMS is currently working on a Net Zero Energy Building and providing Fundamental and Enhanced commissioning to ensure the building systems are installed and operate to their true potential and efficiency. A major task will be to track the building’s energy consumption and production throughout the first year of operation and to adjust operating procedures to achieve net zero energy consumption while keeping the building occupants comfortable.
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November 5, 2013
We have had an enjoyable fall as the weather has been warmer than normal, but it is starting to get cooler. Boiler plants will be needed soon. It is time to start planning for and scheduling seasonal commissioning of the heating systems.
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October 24, 2013
As CFMS founder Mel James has entered into his retirement, some of the staff of CFMS Consulting Inc. put down their reflections and well wishes. Twenty years of leadership and friendship has left a mark, as you will see in the following:
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October 10, 2013
Have you ever wondered how moisture is removed from the air? Have you ever had problems with moisture in the air? These are the basics of how and why it happens.
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October 1, 2013
In the 4 years that I’ve spent with CFMS Consulting, I’ve learned many useful skills from the people around me that have helped propel my career on to a promising path, but none more important than networking. Though it is often overlooked in favor of more specific, job-related tools, networking is the blanket that can be fallen back onto when all else fails.
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September 17, 2013
Welcome back! Summer holidays are now over, and it’s back to routine for most of us. Life isn’t all work and vacation though! Here at CFMS, we believe in doing our part, outside of the work we do, to make the world a better place.
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July 30, 2013
By now hopefully you’ve managed some vacation time, and are in full ‘enjoying summer’ mode. Whether you’ve had time at the cottage, further abroad, or time locally to enjoy a park, patio, beach or other offerings in the GTA, time off is certainly one of the highlights of summer for most!
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July 4, 2013
A constant concern for commissioning consultants is the timing of which we are involved in a project.
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June 20, 2013
There has been much debate over the years as to whether circuit balancing valves (CBV’s) are required. Find out Wendy Collin’s thoughts on this subject. Wendy has almost 20 years of experience to bring to this topic!
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May 28, 2013
When commissioning a control loop, the purpose is to evaluate the building controls system for optimization. There are different types of control loops, and with each comes a different method for commissioning. No matter the situation, what is critical is the comprehension of the control loop, how to recognize when the loop is out of tune, and how to provide stabilization for the control loop in question.
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May 14, 2013
Overall, the CaGBC Toronto Chapter Spring Open was a great event, and definitely a great place to network. I am certainly looking forward to attending the next event.
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April 30, 2013
Through our experiences working with clients who have undergone energy efficiency programs such as retro-commissioning to improve their building performance, we have found that the efficiencies they have initially realized start to disappear within two to three years. The following are recommendations to assist in maintaining and protecting the gains in efficiency that were initially achieved.
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April 23, 2013
With it being Earth Day yesterday, many of us had thoughts of what we have been doing and what we plan to do to contribute to making our world a greener place.
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April 18, 2013
There are capital costs to building commissioning, but it is important to consider the hidden costs of not commissioning.
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April 4, 2013
We found the fins and coils on a cooling tower to be very dirty in one of our retrofit projects. When cooling tower coils and fins are dirty, the heat transfer is not efficient through the coils and fins and cooling tower fans will operate more to transfer the heat to ambient. This results in higher energy consumption and reduces fans’ life expectancy.
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March 26, 2013
With LEED, green buildings, and energy efficiency being a hot topic these days, mechanical systems in buildings are becoming much more complex and more difficult to understand and control. Mechanical designers are finding new innovative ways to recover energy, to provide energy efficiency, and to cut the cost of operating the building, all while maintaining occupant comfort. The ideas and designs of these systems are all great, but what happens once the building is handed over to the Owner, and their operating staff takes over control of the building?
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March 12, 2013
The purpose of conducting verification of the controls system is to provide a third party review of the system. It is an important part of the quality control process, to ensure the Owner has a fully functional system. Are Owners truly aware of the service that will be provided when they ask for “Sampling” in the tender documents, rather than the traditional “100% Point-to-Point Verification” of a controls system?
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February 26, 2013
One task, which to our dismay, appears to be missed or neglected on many new projects, is the testing of integrated mechanical and electrical (M & E) systems at the substantial performance stage prior to occupancy of the building, when the M & E systems have been independently commissioned and are providing the design intent.
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February 14, 2013
As one of the first employees at CFMS since inception, I have observed the evolution of commissioning for over 20 years now, with one of the most significant impacts on the profession, that is, an unprecedented growth in companies offering commissioning services, being spearheaded with the US originated LEED certification process awareness of green technologies and buildings.
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February 5, 2013
CFMS Consulting Inc. has been busy commissioning Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) additions and / or renovations for York Region District School Board, Simcoe County District School Board and York Catholic District School Board. As the third year of the five year implementation program draws to an end, I have noted few thing interesting things
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January 17, 2013
The city’s condo market is booming. Should total building commissioning for condominiums be mandatory in order to achieve substantial completion? Today, many people call a condominium both their home and their investment….
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January 11, 2013
Happy New Year. I hope everyone has taken time to enjoy the holiday break. We were fortunate at CFMS to have a few extra days to spent time with family and friends. While doing so I was thinking what beginning new year means. I did a little research on the internet. I noticed a common theme, out with the old and in with the new. Whether it is house cleaning, paying off debts, or making a resolution, the new year about a new beginning. While my office could definitely use a serious tidy and organization, there a few things that I am not in a hurry to file away or leave behind.
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