LEED™ EA Credit 3 Enhanced Commissioning (1 Point)

"Enhanced Building Systems Commissioning" is the 3rd Credit in the Energy and Atmosphere category of LEED™ Version 3.0.

Intent

The official intent of the Additional Commissioning credit is to “verify and ensure that the entire building is designed, constructed, and calibrated to operate as intended.”

Requirements
To achieve the credit for Additional Commissioning, the following five tasks must be completed in addition to the six required for the Fundamental Building Systems Commissioning prerequisite:

These five tasks are:

• Complete a focused design review prior to the construction documents phase – For this task, a third party (non-design firm) commissioning authority must be used. The LEED™ Reference Guide Version 2.0 gives several guidelines for the qualifications necessary for an independent commissioning authority. The commissioning authority must review the designs for the project prior to the construction documents phase, providing feedback to the team on each commissioned system or feature. The review should concentrate on whether the design will or will not meet the owner’s goals for the building systems as stated in the design intent, such as energy efficiency, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, etc.

•Complete a focused design review of the construction documents – Like the previous task, this review must be completed by a third party commissioning authority. The review of construction documents takes place before completion of the construction documents, so that the commissioning authority can provide feedback on whether the commissioning requirements have been adequately included in the drawings and specifications. This is also the last opportunity for the commissioning authority to check that the previous review comments have been incorporated to ensure the designs will meet the owner’s requirements.

• Complete a selective submittal review for commissioned equipment – During the construction phase, an independent third party commissioning authority must review contractor submittals for commissioned systems and equipment. Like the design reviews, the purpose of this review is to ensure that the selected equipment meets the owner’s requirements stated in the design intent. This may include not just the functionality of the equipment, but also its environmental characteristics.

• Create a recommissioning management manual – In addition to the traditional O&M manual, the Additional Commissioning credit requires the commissioning authority to create a recommissioning management manual. The LEED™ Reference Guide Version 2.0 lists the components that must be included in this manual, such as as-built sequences of operation for all equipment, descriptions of energy and water saving features, seasonal start-up and shutdown procedures, a list of diagnostic tools, etc. This manual is intended to provide the owner with in-depth tools and strategies for keeping the building running in optimal condition.

• Contract for a warranty or post occupancy review – At the end of the construction phase, the commissioning authority must be under contract to return to the building at the 10-month point to review its operation for warranty issues. This task must include both a review of current operation to identify any potential warranty related problems before the typical 12 month warranty expiration, and an interview with building operating staff to identify their concerns.

Documentation

LEED™ requires three documents to prove compliance with the conditions described in the Additional Commissioning credit. A portion of the commissioning plan showing the five additional tasks must be submitted, along with a letter of certification from a third party commissioning authority stating that the first three tasks were completed successfully. A written report must also be included showing evidence of the design review results. If the third party commissioning authority also completed tasks four and five, then certification of their successfu completion can be included in the letter. Otherwise, the person responsible for the completion of tasks four and five should submit a separate letter indicating the successful completion of those tasks.