This month, I begin a few columns about technical commissioning issues. It is intriguing to me that some of the most common and “simplest” HVAC equipment can be some of the trickiest to get right. This may not be so much because they are actually tricky, but more because we do not take them seriously enough.
Commissioning professionals focus a great deal of attention on a project’s few large and complex central systems, such as boiler plants, chiller plants, air handling units, and energy recovery equipment. This is how it should be, but there are plenty of things to keep in mind and to stay on top of with the many small and simple systems. Failing to optimize the scores or hundreds of terminal units in a building can add up to significant energy and performance issues.