By: Nicole Imeson
Commissioning providers (CxPs) turn building automation systems (BAS) into powerful drivers of sustainability. They fine-tune system performance to boost energy efficiency, reduce maintenance demands, and enhance occupant comfort, turning smart controls into tangible environmental benefits. Their work delivers proven results: a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) study found that effective commissioning (Cx) reduces whole-building energy use by 16% in existing buildings and 13% in new ones, cutting operating costs and emissions while supporting long-term sustainability goals.
Automation acts as the building’s central nervous system, integrating HVAC, lighting, security, access control, and other systems into one responsive framework. CxPs independently verify inputs, fine-tune sequences, and analyze real-time data on energy use, temperature, occupancy, and equipment performance to set baselines, uncover inefficiencies, and confirm optimization strategies. Automation systems adjust to actual conditions, reducing waste, improving comfort, and flagging equipment issues early. Cx ensures that performance aligns with real-world use, creating healthy and efficient spaces that support sustainability goals.
Elevating Maintenance from Reactive to Predictive
Most buildings still rely on reactive or time-based maintenance, resulting in waste, breakdowns, and increasing costs. CxPs help shift operations toward predictive strategies by unlocking the full potential of an integrated BAS. Through real-time monitoring, systems track critical equipment and alert facility teams to abnormal conditions, like temperature drift, pressure changes, or energy spikes. CxPs validate system setpoints and control sequences during Cx to catch issues early without false alarms. According to the Department of Energy’s Operations and Maintenance Best Practices, predictive maintenance can eliminate 70–75% of breakdowns, reduce downtime by 35–45%, and cut maintenance costs by 25–30%.
Maintenance strategies fall into three main categories: reactive, preventative, and predictive. Reactive maintenance, also known as breakdown maintenance, occurs after equipment fails. For example, neglecting air filters until they become so clogged that they starve the fan of air, causing it to overheat and burn out, requiring immediate replacement. This approach often leads to high costs due to unplanned downtime and urgent service fees.
Preventive maintenance follows a set schedule, regardless of system condition. When it comes to filters, this means changing them on a fixed schedule, for example, every three months, regardless of their actual condition or the level of dust accumulation. While this approach helps prevent the extreme filter loading that could lead to fan burnout, it might also result in unnecessary filter changes if the filters aren't very dirty. Conversely, it could miss situations where filters become dirty before their scheduled change, still causing some strain on the fan.
Predictive maintenance uses real-time data from the BAS to anticipate when maintenance is truly needed, optimizing efficiency and preventing failures. Installing pressure sensors across the filter bank and programming the system to trigger an alarm once the pressure drop exceeds a predetermined limit ensures that filters are replaced only when their performance is compromised. This approach prevents excessive strain on the fan while avoiding premature and wasteful replacements.
Intelligent Automation
In HVAC systems, the largest energy users in most buildings, the BAS supports strategies such as occupancy-based control, which adjusts temperature and airflow only when necessary; demand control ventilation, which uses CO₂ sensors to limit unnecessary conditioning of outdoor air; and setbacks, which scale back conditioning during unoccupied hours. CxPs test and verify that these control sequences perform as intended, reducing energy without sacrificing comfort.
Smart lighting systems also benefit Cx. CxPs confirm that photosensors dim or turn off overhead lights when daylight is available, and that occupancy sensors and scheduling functions ensure lights only operate when needed, reducing waste and aligning lighting use with actual building activity.
Cx also ensures automation responds to external conditions. CxPs validate sequences that open outdoor air dampers for free cooling when outdoor temperatures drop below indoor setpoints. They test Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) to ensure it detects issues such as stuck dampers, sensor drift, or wandering setpoints, thereby ensuring alerts prompt timely action. This proactive approach enables operators to prevent energy loss and maintain high-performance operations.
Improving Thermal Comfort
CxPs play a key role in aligning building automation with occupant comfort, an essential element of sustainable design. While energy efficiency often leads the conversation, buildings support occupant health, productivity, and well-being to achieve true high performance. Through careful calibration and functional testing, CxPs ensure automation systems deliver consistent thermal comfort across all zones. They verify temperature controls respond accurately to occupancy patterns and environmental changes, eliminating hot and cold spots that trigger complaints.
Ventilation also impacts comfort and health. CxPs confirm that BAS systems adjust fresh air intake based on CO₂ levels and real-time occupancy, maintaining indoor air quality without over-ventilating or wasting energy.
When buildings provide reliable comfort and clean air, tenants stay longer, file fewer complaints, and view facility management more favorably. Cx makes these outcomes possible by turning theoretical control into practical, people-focused performance.
The Future is Integrated and Intelligent
The future of building automation lies in deeper integration and intelligent systems, and Cx plays a crucial role in realizing this potential. As BAS evolves to incorporate renewable energy management, predictive analytics, AI, and smart grid interactions, CxPs must stay ahead by mastering these technologies and ensuring seamless integration.
Cx teams adapt their processes to include data-driven tuning and ongoing performance monitoring, enabling buildings to respond dynamically to changing conditions and utility signals. By championing intelligent, integrated BAS Cx, professionals help buildings achieve higher efficiency, reliability, and occupant comfort, laying the foundation for truly sustainable, high-performance environments.
CxPs hold the key to transforming smart systems into truly sustainable solutions. By verifying, optimizing, and fine-tuning BAS from design to operation, they help buildings cut energy use, anticipate maintenance needs, and enhance comfort. Their expertise ensures automation delivers real-world results, making Cx essential to every green building strategy.