The International Code Council (ICC) will develop a Guideline for Building Commissioning for facilitating increased efficiency in commercial buildings. A committee of global industry leaders and technical experts will be appointed to develop the guideline. Commissioning is a new process required by the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), CalGreen, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
“Commissioning, or the verification of how a building performs once the certificate of occupancy is issued, is the only way to ensure the design and performance of the building is being maintained and therefore reducing emissions,” ICC Chief Executive Officer Richard Weiland said.
Codes do not provide specifics on how testing should be performed, what methods of testing and reporting are acceptable, or what specific qualifications a local jurisdiction needs to require of a commissioning agent. ICC believes the new guideline will provide a minimum level of quality to safeguard health, property, and public welfare, and ensure performance.
Guideline provisions will apply to the commissioning of buildings, who commissions them, and how. The document will complement the IGCC, CalGreen, LEED, and the like so as not to create conflict in the marketplace or with current regulations.
The guideline will be aimed at those responsible for providing building commissioning from jurisdictions, to building inspectors, contractors, architects, engineers, designers, and others with functions in the international development community and those who will enforce commissioning from a regulatory perspective. The purpose of the guideline is to provide regulators and third parties with a guide to determine who is competent to be a commissioning agent. It would include skill sets and how to enforce commissioning from a regulator’s perspective, with an eye toward creating an ICC certification program.
The adoption of IGCC, CalGreen, and other green codes and standards will be the main driving force for the guideline. Both IGCC and CalGreen require levels (architectural, structural, HVAC, energy, water, etc.) of commissioning.
