Appropriate commissioning of HVAC systems

The latest regulations emphasise the need to ensure building services are commissioned appropriately. Although commissioning is not limited to HVAC systems those systems are the foundation for commissioning. It is a process to evaluate performance and identify fixes and includes the processes of bringing the systems into operation, their regulation, the setting up of associated control systems, plus the recording of the final settings and the state of the final system performance.

The actual commissioning process should start before any of the building systems are installed with a commissioning plan submitted at design stage at the same time the Target Emission rate (TER) Building Emission Rate (BER) calculations are produced. This allows the Building Control Body (BCB) to check that commissioning is undertaken as work proceeds. It also ensures that provisions specifically included for commissioning purposes do not fall short of value engineering exercises and are not neglected due to poor understanding of commissioning needs by site personnel.

At the end of the process the BCB must be formally advised that the commissioning plan has been followed and the results of the tests confirm that the performance is reasonably in accordance with the actual building design.  Until the commissioning notice is received the building can’t be signed off as being compliant with building regulations.

Commissioning is incorrectly, yet all too often, seen as the last stage of a project, a ‘set up’ process rather than part of an ongoing fine-tuning process. It is traditionally ‘completed’ during the final phase prior to handover at the prevailing external conditions during a period of non-occupancy.

AmbiRad ensures its products are set to recommendations from day one, prolonging product life and minimising environmental impact.