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Building owners who work with commissioning firms have certain expectations when it comes to energy management. At the beginning of each project, goals are set and are reflected throughout the design phase as stated in the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) documentation. However, for uninformed owners, it can be difficult to…

Gary Short Aug 25, 2016

We recently shared with you a new financing program that helps property owners adopt clean energy with no up-front costs and amortized repayment over 20 years. The PACE program is an excellent financing solution for commercial property owners, and also extends to residential and municipal properties in some areas. (more…)

Gary Short Apr 25, 2014

When analyzing the energy efficiency and power status of a structure, whether it’s new or old, big or small, futuristically efficient or embarrassingly wasteful, there are two options that are widely regarded as the most prevalent among stakeholders.  These are technical commissioning and process commissioning. (more…)

Gary Short Jan 16, 2014

Despite their growing popularities among building owners, the difference between existing building commissioning and ongoing commissioning still seems vague to many building owners and facility managers. The following information sheds some light on the differences between these practices. Retro-commissioning, also called Existing Building Commissioning or EBCx, deals with work exclusive…

Gary Short Jan 09, 2014

Energy Star-certified properties have more than doubled over the last three years in Minneapolis-St. Paul, claims a Great Plains Institute report published in October 2013. The lion’s share of the certifications in the area are represented by three categories: office buildings (35 percent of certifications), K-12 schools (28 percent) and…

Gary Short Jan 07, 2014

Between heating, cooling, lighting, electronics and various medical devices, U.S. health care facilities spend a staggering $8.8 billion every year on energy alone. That equates to the average hospital spending more than $675,000 on energy costs annually, exceeding the per-building energy costs of any other type of building by a…

Gary Short Jan 03, 2014

At first, existing building commissioning might just seem like a time-consuming and costly process. To the contrary, though: existing building commissioning actually saves businesses money in the long run. The reasons for this are varied, but it generally stands that the savings entailed by commissioning an older building will result…

Gary Short Dec 25, 2013

As existing building commissioning gains traction nationwide, facilities of all types are gearing up to retrofit from head to toe. The remodel of health care facilities, however, comes with a laundry list of especially complicated and unique challenges. (more…)

Gary Short Dec 23, 2013