LCA: EE 110: Commissioning and Lighting Controls

In an ideal project, the building owner clearly defines the project goals, the design team develops an appropriate design, contractors install the system according to the design documents, and the completed building performs as intended.

In practice, however, many factors can lead to performance problems:

• Owner expectations may be unclear or poorly documented.
• Design documents may not clearly communicate design intent.
• Incorrect equipment is supplied or substituted during construction.
• Systems may be installed or programmed incorrectly.
• Building personnel may not understand how systems should function.

Project commissioning, a systematic process used throughout a project to verify and document that building systems perform according to the owner’s project requirements and design intent, addresses these challenges.

For lighting and lighting controls, commissioning ensures that the installed system:

• Operates according to the intended control sequences.
• Represents the intent of the Construction Documents
• Integrates seamlessly with other building systems.
• Provides the expected lighting performance and energy savings.
• May also verify compliance with applicable energy codes and standards.

Commissioning begins during the pre-design phase and may continue following a period of building occupancy to confirm that the system performs as intended.