Retro-Commissioning Services
Most older buildings were not built with efficiency in mind. In terms of energy usage, they’re financially cumbersome and taxing on business profits.
Thankfully, as an industry, we’re getting better at design, optimization, and commissioning. Newer buildings benefit immensely from these improvements, which causes older buildings to fall even further behind in comparison.
Enter retro-commissioning. Retro-commissioning allows you to improve the quality and efficiency of older buildings by employing modern methods. Your existing facilities don’t have to miss out on innovation.
What Is Retro-Commissioning?
Retro-commissioning applies the commissioning process to existing buildings that haven’t been previously commissioned. Without commissioning during the project’s initial construction, a building ends up with design and systems deficiencies that prevent it from operating efficiently. Retro-commissioning helps you identify and fix those problems, better ensuring optimal building system performance.
Efficiency isn’t the only focus of a retro-commissioning project. Improvements in the indoor environment, air quality, comfort, productivity, and improving the building’s carbon footprint are all taken into account during the process.
Before we help improve building efficiency, we perform a detailed audit of the facility based on your requirements. These audits reveal current weaknesses, and help us evaluate, adjust, and fine-tune systems and building operations. We then find cost-effective ways to improve the functionality of existing equipment, as well as optimize energy usage and operational efficiency.
Signs Your Current Building Could Use Retro-Commissioning Services
As a building owner or administrator, it’s easy to figure out whether you need retro-commissioning for your facility. Here are some signs to look out for:
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Unusual energy spikes. Aside from increasing your energy costs, irregular or unusual energy spikes typically point to severe underlying electrical problems.
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Frequent occupant complaints. Virtually no one is more aware of a building’s performance than the people who spend the most time in it. Frequent complaints may stem from inefficiency, system problems, or lack of calibration caused by changes over time. Even if those changes are aimed at creating a comfortable environment, they may have inadvertently caused performance issues.
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Changing the facility’s purpose. Repurposing buildings and manufacturing facilities isn’t unheard of. However, in order to cut costs, the process is oftentimes rushed and issues can be neglected. This causes building systems problems later on.
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A sudden increase in maintenance costs. If your maintenance costs are constantly going up, this is almost a surefire sign of underlying problems that aren’t being addressed. In effect, you’re treating the symptoms, rather than the cause.
Of course, the best way to be sure is to contact an expert like SAIN Engineering Services. We’d be happy to talk with you about your facilities and offer more information.
Benefits of the Retro-Commissioning Process
Retro-commissioning offers building owners a host of benefits at relatively low cost—with the proper implementation plan.
A Great Investment
While seemingly expensive initially, retro-commissioning is actually quite cost-effective. The service usually pays for itself in energy savings alone. And it’s future-proof. As electricity increases in price, you get even more value from retro-commissioning.
Energy costs are not the only thing to decrease. Maintenance costs tend to go down as well. With building operations running at optimal performance, facilities need fewer maintenance procedures. This is great for manufacturing facilities because they get shut down less frequently, cutting costs even further.
Improves Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality is an important issue for us all, regardless of our work environment. While newer buildings benefit from improvements in HVAC filtration, older buildings often lack those systems (or they’re poorly maintained).
Retro-commissioning addresses this—as well as other air quality-related issues in existing buildings—and resolves them. This results in better IAQ, lowering health risks and improving well-being.
Reduces a Building’s Carbon Footprint
Retro-commissioning is also a good step towards sustainability. The commissioning process can not only improve energy efficiency and building systems: It can also reduce a building’s carbon footprint.
Improves comfort
Finally, retro-commissioning enhances occupant comfort. Optimizing building operations and fixing underlying problems means everything runs much more smoothly. This leads to fewer complaints, better health, well-being, and increased productivity for everyone.
Why Choose SAIN Engineering for Your Retro-Commissioning Needs?
What sets us apart is we don’t have clients at SAIN Engineering—we have partners. We’ve invested in each and every one of our partners’ long-term success.
These partnerships run on trust. That’s why trust is at the core of our business. Trust that we’ll take care of you. Trust that we’ll push your systems and technologies forward. Trust that we’ll help you get your buildings and your business to where they can be.
We do everything in our power to give you the best possible solutions to serve your needs. We don’t push particular brands; we’re all about getting the job done, and we don’t take any shortcuts doing it.
We are committed to the operational efficiency of your facilities. Every light bulb, every door, and every vent has its place in an incredibly complicated and delicately balanced system, and we’re there to make sure it all runs smoothly.
We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for change. When you come to us with your retro-commissioning needs, we’re confident we can deliver fantastic results as we’ve done so many times before. Our work speaks for itself.