Retrocommissioning Within the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) Certification System

Eric Baxter, Hannah Friedman, Larry Luskay, and Tudi Haasl, Portland Energy Conservation, Inc.

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Abstract

In 2002, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) began a pilot certification program for existing buildings, modeled after its highly successful Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) for New Construction certification. Over 90 buildings throughout the United States have registered as pilot participants and are “test driving” the certification’s framework to certify their buildings. The pilot projects will provide crucial feedback to USGBC before the certification program is finalized and released in 2004.

LEEDTM for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) has several prerequisite requirements, and numerous measures that the participant can select from to best suit the strengths of their existing building and future operational goals. One of the most labor-intensive yet effective requirements in the energy and atmosphere section of this certification is the retrocommissioning prerequisite. This paper details the retrocommissioning effort of a large federal facility seeking LEED-EB certification. The paper explores the goals of the project, the LEED-EB retrocommissioning requirements, the actual process implemented, and specific findings from the project.