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Soft Skills Are Important in Retrocommissioning

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RELATED CONTENT:

energy management , building automation systems , retrocommissioning , HVAC , facility management .

Today's topic is the importance of soft skills for retrocommissioning.

Retrocommissioning — the commissioning of existing building systems — can save a significant amount of energy for a relatively small investment, in part by improving the way controls operate. But in some facilities, any change in operations may seem like a risk - a risk that isn’t worth taking.

That was the case at the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign. The University decided to retrocommission buildings with the highest energy use. But the retrocommissioning teams sometimes met with resistance, even though departments housed in those buildings were going to be charged back for energy use. Some departments were worried that changes in the way the facility operated might cause harm to experiments that had been going on for years - even decades.

Working with the staff in those buildings took patience and persistence. The retrocommissioning team made small changes, then let everyone see the results. They also had to educate occupants about the impact that their behavior could have on energy use. In one lab, encouragement to close fume hood sashes reduced energy costs by $30,000 in one month.

Being sensitive to occupant perceptions paid off, not only in energy savings, but also in customer satisfaction. By the time the retrocommissioning team left, building occupants were happy they'd come.