Zenon Expertise: Why do high-performance buildings miss their energy targets?
A building’s energy targets depend on how its systems perform together once it is operating. Efficient equipment and a carefully designed envelope each contribute to the result, but the connections between them deserve just as much attention.
That is the challenge highlighted by Kyle Bigourdin, Zenon’s Principal, Commissioning – Western Canada. His perspective centres on a gap that can be difficult to see when project teams assess each system separately: whether those systems actually work together as intended.
Where performance gaps begin
HVAC, lighting, window shades and controls all influence the conditions inside a building. Their operation is connected, and decisions made within one system can affect what another system needs to do.
Shading, for example, influences daylight and solar heat entering a space. Lighting and HVAC must respond to the conditions that result. Checking each component independently provides only part of the picture; the building’s overall performance also depends on coordinated operation.
As Kyle explains:
“When HVAC, lighting, and window shades are implemented without proper coordination, efficiency suffers. Commissioning solves this by validating the entire ecosystem.”
This is why a collection of successful individual tests can still leave questions about the building as a whole. A system may meet its own requirements while an interaction with another system remains untested. Those gaps can carry through into operation and affect the energy performance the project was designed to achieve.
What total building commissioning adds
Total building commissioning brings a coordinated view to the testing process. It considers how the building’s systems interact and whether their combined operation supports the project’s intended performance.
The scope of that coordination matters. Mechanical and electrical systems, controls and the building envelope each have a role in how the building functions. When they are considered together, the project team can examine the connections between disciplines and identify issues that isolated checks may leave unresolved.
For owners, this makes commissioning an important part of turning design intent into an operating building. It provides an opportunity to validate assumptions about how systems will work together and address gaps before they become part of everyday operation.
It also gives the project team a shared basis for discussing performance. The central question becomes whether the building responds as intended across its connected systems.
A coordinated approach at École Quatre-Saisons
At École Quatre-Saisons, total building commissioning aligned envelope, mechanical, electrical and acoustic systems to support the project’s LEED Silver objectives and performance at the start of operation.
The project illustrates the breadth of coordination involved. Energy performance was part of a wider picture that included the building envelope and the indoor environment. Bringing those disciplines into a coordinated commissioning approach helped connect the project’s requirements with how the completed building was intended to function.
Bringing system interactions into the conversation
For teams working towards ambitious energy targets, commissioning scope should make room for the relationships between systems. Alongside confirming that individual systems function correctly, teams need to establish which interactions will be tested, how the relevant disciplines will participate and how identified gaps will be resolved.
That conversation helps keep performance expectations connected to the work of delivering the building. It gives owners and project teams a clearer view of what has been validated and where further coordination is needed.
At Zenon, our multidisciplinary approach brings connected expertise to these challenges. Total building commissioning helps us assess how the parts come together and support the performance our clients are working towards.
Connect with Zenon to discuss commissioning for your next project at zenongroup.com.
