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While it has always been important to engage the Commissioning Consulting (CxA) early on in the design stage of a project seeking LEED certification, it is even more important for the new LEED® v4.
Projects registered by October 31, 2016 will fall under the current LEED® standard, LEED® 2009. The Energy and Atmosphere Fundamental Commissioning credit, EAp1, is a required credit for LEED® certification. The CxA must be engaged before the end of the design stage. They are required to compare and report on the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) with the Basis of Design (BOD). They must review the 95% tender documents as compared to the OPR and BOD, and generate a report. They must also provide or assist in the development of the the Commissioning Specifications for inclusion in the tender documents. Furthermore, the CxA will develop the Commissioning Plan, detailing the commissioning team and their responsibilities and the commissioning process to be followed. For the optional Enhanced Commissioning Credit, EAc3, there are several reviews of the design develop documentation during the early project development.
Projects registered for LEED® certification, starting November 1, 2016, will fall under the LEED® v4 criteria. Under this new version of LEED®, more up front documentation is required. For the Fundamental Commissioning and Verification Credit the following are required.
Design Review. The same document review as needed previously, is required prior to tender to ensure the OPR and BOD requirements have been captured.
System Design Intent. This document is to be generated from the BOD for each system. This document to be used later to develop the system test procedures for verifying the system performance.
Construction Checklists. Design Intent Documentation, the performance data and operating requirements are recorded for each system.
Commissioning Plan. Similar to the previous version, the plan will describe the commissioning process, identify the commissioning team and their responsibilities and describe the reporting and documentation requirements. In addition, it will describe the methodology of the commissioning process and detail the testing process and requirements agreed upon by the commissioning team.
In LEED® v4 the Enhanced Commissioning credit offers more credits through different options as well as different paths within the options. For comparison purposes, the most similar to EAc3 is Enhanced Commissioning, Option 1, Path 1. During the design stage the following are required.
Develop Systems Manual Scope and Format. The CxA is required to work with the Owner to develop the Systems Manual scope and format. The requirements for the Systems Manual scope are to be included in the tender specifications.
Develop Training Requirements. The CxA is required to work with the Owner to develop the training requirements. The training requirements are to be included in the tender specifications.
It has always been necessary for the CxA to be involved in LEED® projects as early as possible during the design stage. But with the implementation of LEED® v4 it has become even more so. The LEED® Consultant will be documenting the process and tracking all credits to ensure the correct timelines are maintained. Whether you are the Owner or the Prime Consultant on a project seeking LEED® certification, be sure to engage a Commissioning Consultant as soon as possible to ensure the project achieves certification.
(this blog was co-written by Wendy Collins and Ed Trueman, and will be part of a series focusing on LEED V4)