Continuous Commissioning® (CC®)
Optimization process to resolve operating problems, improve comfort, and optimize energy use for existing commercial and institutional buildings and central plant facilities.
Developed, trademarked, and licensed by ESL-TEES, Continuous Commissioning®, or CC® is an ongoing process to resolve operating problems, improve comfort, and optimize energy use for existing commercial and institutional buildings and central plant facilities. CC® incorporates and extends existing building commissioning practices. The CC® process is recognized as the gold standard for optimizing comfort and energy performance in existing buildings.
- Implemented in over 900 buildings
- Provides an average project simple payback of under 2 years
- Used in climates around the globe
- Has produced over $390 million in savings as of December 2017
Interested in how the CC® process can help you with your sustainability, energy management, and carbon footprint reduction objectives? Let’s talk! Call us at 979-862-3652 or email us at [email protected].
David Claridge
Director, Continuous Commissioning® (CC®) GroupEnergy Systems Laboratory • Texas A&M University- [email protected]
- 979-862-8471
An Introduction to Continuous Commissioning® (CC®) by Dr. David Claridge, Director of the Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station.
The Process
The Energy Systems Laboratory has developed the Continuous Commissioning® process to improve comfort and performance using cost effective measures. CC® incorporates the best of retro-commissioning techniques into a process that has achieved superior performance in over 300 buildings around the globe. The objective of CC® is to produce a rapid payback while providing sustained improvement to building performance according to the facility’s actual use. The process:
- results in improved occupant comfort and satisfaction
- normally uses existing equipment rather than costly retrofits
- achieves higher system efficiency over traditional methods
Software Technology
The stages and tools of the Continuous Commissioning® (CC®) process, including (1) Investigation/Modeling (Opportunity Assessor, WinAM), (2) Implementation/Data Analysis/Visualization (Implementer), and (3) Continued CC® (Validator).
Continuous Commissioning® Tools
The Energy Systems Laboratory not only implements Continuous Commissioning®, it also creates CC® technology and tools that can be used in the building commissioning process. The suite of tools below has been developed to be used during the Continuous Commissioning® process by the Energy Systems Laboratory.
Opportunity Assessor
Investigation and ModelingUsing measured energy consumption and some basic questions about the building, Opportunity Assessor identifies the potential savings opportunity for it. It is useful at the early stage of identifying—in a systematic way—buildings which are good candidates for the Continuous Commissioning® process.
WinAM
Investigation and ModelingThis tool is used in the Continuous Commissioning® process during the detailed assessment. From this assessment, engineers create an hourly-simulation model, and calibrate it to the measured energy consumption. Then the model can be used to predict savings by applying various energy efficiency measures.
Mapper
Investigation and ModelingThis tool is used in the Continuous Commissioning® process during the detailed assessment. Mapper is a GIS tool that is used to calculate geometric input parameters needs by modeling tools such as WinAM and others.
Implementer
Implementation and AnalysisThis tool is used in the CC® process to acquire, store, time-align, analyze, and visualize trend data obtained from the building automation system in a scalable manner. With more and more data flowing from buildings, it makes sense to extract useful information without getting flooded with data. Analysis includes fault detection and issue management.
Validator
Ongoing CommissioningHonest and transparent Measurement & Verification (M&V) is important in the CC® process. Based on an agreed-upon selection algorithm, Validator automatically creates inverse models, stores energy consumption data, and estimates realized savings from the CC® process. Read a recent academic paper from our team that describes the approach.
Licensing and Partnerships Opportunities
Engineering Companies
The ESL not only implements Continuous Commissioning®, but licenses its CC® technology and practices to engineering firms. This select group of Engineers and Building Professionals have the necessary skills and training to quickly identify the best improvement opportunities—those that can be implemented with the least cost while producing the greatest impact. Currently licensed companies include:
Building Owners
The Energy Systems Laboratory is interested in working with building owners to implement the Continuous Commissioning® process. Partnerships can include projects implemented by the Energy Systems Laboratory team or training of the building owner’s team to implement projects. Example partnerships include:
Government and Non-Profits
The Energy Systems Laboratory is interested in working with government and non-profit organizations to implement the Continuous Commissioning® process. Partnerships can include projects implemented by the Energy Systems Laboratory team or training of government and non-profit teams to implement projects using Continuous Commissioning® technology. Example partnerships include:
