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58 PROPOSAL TO REVISE ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS OF THE BUILDING CODE OF AUSTRALIA FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
Despite these benefits, not all buildings are receiving an adequate level of
commissioning.
In past submissions to the ABCB, practitioners have advocated the
importance of correct commissioning of building services systems. For
example, poorly commissioned outside air dampers will introduce more hot
or cold outside air than Section F requires and so require more energy to
cool or heat the air. Even worse, a heating system and a cooling system
may be operating at the same time if the controls are not properly set.
There has been some reluctance in the past to include in the BCA
something that could be considered a matter of workmanship. However,
with the Government’s desire to further improve the energy efficiency of
buildings, the ABCB has revisited the proposal to include commissioning in
the BCA. 19
In light of this, Part J8 (‘access for maintenance’) is proposed to be
extended to include other aspects such as commissioning and aspects
that facilitate the ongoing operation of plants including maintenance
manuals and monitoring means.
Specifically, the proposed 2010 BCA states that the following energy
efficiency systems and equipment must be commissioned to meet the
design intent of the systems and to validate their required performance
(ABCB 2009b):
• the energy efficiency systems of Parts J5 to J7, including the balance of
air and water systems, damper settings, thermostat settings and the
like; and
• adjustable or motorised shading devices.
Commissioning costs vary considerably with project size and building type,
equipment type and commissioning scope. However, some studies have
found that, as a general rule, commissioning costs for new buildings
amount to approximately 0.6 to 1.5 per cent of total construction costs
(Mills et al 2005 and PECI 2002).
While it is recognised that commissioning has the potential to increase the
compliance costs associated with the proposed amendments, anecdotal
evidence suggests that commissioning activities are already being carried
out in most buildings to maximise the performance of the energy efficiency
19 Note that the BCA already includes commissioning through reference standards such
as AS 1670.1, AS/NZS 1668.1, AS 1668.2, AS 2118 and AS/NZS 366.1.
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