Annex 40 is an international research project which aims at developing,
validating and documenting tools for commissioning of buildings and
building services. A few months before the end of this 4 years project one
presents here an overview of its main achievements.
These achievements can be split in 4 categories: 1) tools to manage the
commissioning process, 2) manual commissioning tools, 3) approaches to
use building energy management system to assist in building
commissioning, 4) approaches to use component as well as whole building
models to improve commissioning

Visier, J. C.

Texas A&M University

COMMISSIONING OF BUILDING HVAC SYSTEMS 
FOR IMPROVED ENERGY PERFORMANCE. 
 
A SUMMARY OF ANNEX 40 RESULTS 
 
JC Visier 
CSTB, 84 Avenue Jean Jaures, F-77447 Marne la Vallée Cedex 02 
 
Summary  
Annex 40 is an international research project which aims at  developing, 
validating and documenting tools for commissioning of buildings and 
building services. A few months before the end of this 4 years project one 
presents here an overview of its  main achievements. 
These achievements can be split in 4 categories: 1) tools to manage  the 
commissioning process, 2) manual commissioning tools, 3) approaches to 
use  building energy management system to assist in building 
commissioning, 4) approaches to use component as well as whole building 
models to improve commissioning. 
 
Keywords: commissioning, HVAC, energy  
 
INTRODUCTION  
The demands of building users regarding the environment are growing. We all 
request a comfortable and healthy indoor environment but we do not accept any 
more excessive use of natural resources and pollution of outdoor environment. 
The heating ventilation and air conditioning industry seeks solution to fulfil 
these higher requirements.  Many new products and systems  are developed such 
as high efficiency generation systems using renewable, low energy cooling 
systems, natural ventilation systems, integrated control systems…  We are clearly 
leaving  the time of low efficiency stand alone products to enter the period of 
high efficiency integrated systems. 
Moving from products to systems enables to develop more efficient and 
flexible solutions but leads to a higher level of complexity. Complexity for the 
building owner who shall define more in details the demands. Complexity for the 
designer who has to define a full system on the basis of a growing number of 
attractive components. Complexity for the installer who has to install systems 
which are all different and often innovative. Complexity for the users which have 
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access to more and more choices for the operation of the building. 
The management of this complexity requests new approaches, new skills, new 
tools. Commissioning is one of these new approaches to manage the complexity 
of today's HVAC systems.  
Annex 40 
The Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community System programme of 
the International Energy Agency supports has supported for years project to 
facilitate and accelerate the introduction of energy conservation, and 
environmentally sustainable technologies into healthy buildings and community 
systems. 
In 2001 a project called Annex40 was launched on Commissioning of 
Building HVAC Systems for Improved Energy Performance. The goal was to 
develop, validate and document tools for commissioning of buildings and 
building services.  
10 countries ( Japan, France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, 
Germany, Norway, Finland) took part as full members,  observers participated 
from 4 other countries (The Netherlands, Korea, China, Hungary). 
The Annex is organized in 5 tasks according to the structure illustrated in 
Figure 1:  
A - Commissioning process
B -
Ma
nu
al 
com
mi
ssi
on
ing
 to
ols
C -
BE
MS
 as
sis
ted
 co
mm
iss
ion
ing
 to
ols
D -
Us
e o
f m
od
els
 in
 co
mm
iss
ion
ing
short term long term
E - Commissioning projects
 
Figure 1 : Organisation of Annex 40 
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The annex is now close to its end and one presents here an overview of the 
main achievements of the different tasks. 
. 
TOOLS TO MANAGE THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS 
The key challenge to commission a building  is to well  manage the process. A 
central document for that purpose is the  commissioning plan which defines the 
actions to be performed.  The commissioning plan will be the  key tool for the 
different players to understand what is meant by commissioning on a specific 
project, what amount of effort and money  it will required  and how it will be 
managed.  
Three types of tools were developed or used within the annex to support the 
definition and application of the commissioning plan: standard model 
commissioning plans, checklist and matrix for quality control. 
tool description Level of 
detail 
Standard model 
commissioning 
plan 
(SMCP) 
A typical description of 
commissioning actions all along a 
project 
To be used as a guideline to define 
the commissioning plan for a given 
project 
Medium 
Checklist Minimum level of definition of a 
commissioning plan. 
Is specific to a given type of HVAC 
system 
Low 
Matrix for 
Quality Control 
(MQC) 
An extended tool for the 
management of the quality of the 
whole construction project. 
Includes commissioning plan as 
well as other elements in a very 
structured way 
High 
Examples of standard model commissioning plans, check list and matrix for 
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quality control will be available on the final annex CD. They will be supported by 
description of their application to different projects. 
In addition to these tools a detailed multilingual glossary is developed and will 
be available in the annex report and CD. 
 
MANUAL COMMISSIONING TOOLS 
Functional performance test are the core of commissioning.  They are devoted 
to the detection of possible malfunctions and to their diagnosis. The malfunction 
may be due to : Selection or sizing mistake, Manufacturing fault or initial 
deterioration, Installation fault, Wrong tuning, Control failure, Abnormal 
conditions of use. 
A standard format was defined to describe the Functional Testing Procedures 
and different procedures were developed and apply. The annex report describes a 
general approach to develop FPT procedures, a set of documented procedures and 
also includes a description of main sources of existing FPT. 
 
THE USE OF BUILDING ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO 
ASSIST IN BUILDING COMMISSIONING  
Building energy management systems (BEMS) are seen by some players as a 
future key tool to enable an efficient commissioning. Nevertheless this dream can 
be achieved only if the BEMS system itself is properly commissioned. 
The annex has realised an enquiry on the state of the art of BEMS 
commissioning in Japan, Canada, USA and France. The results presented in the 
report highlight the difficulties to be overcome. 
The annex has then clarified the different approaches for using BEMS to 
commission HVAC and energy systems.   
Two approaches to commissioning using the control system that have been 
considered in Annex 40 are passive testing and active testing.  Passive tests 
involve using the control system to monitor and record sensor and actuator 
signals from energy systems operating under normal conditions.  These tests are 
non-invasive in that they do not introduce any artificial disturbances into the 
systems.  The most important aspects of passive testing are to properly select 
points to monitor and to apply appropriate data analysis methods. Active testing 
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involves making artificial changes to the systems under control in order to 
interrogate behavior. Active tests can reveal more information about a controlled 
system in a shorter time period than passive tests, but can be more expensive to 
implement.  
Four main techniques were studied to implement automatic commissioning 
tools:  model based, rule based, performance index based, logic tracer.  
1. A model-based method involves comparing predictions of a model 
with the measured performance of a component or system.  
2. A rule-based method transform physical and logical prior (expert) 
knowledge of a system into a set of rules, e.g., IF/THEN. The rules 
should duplicate the same reasoning that an expert would use. 
Performance indices are calculated values or control values that 
quantify the performance of a control loop, component, or system.   
3. The performance index-based method involves comparing indices of 
similar controllers or components under specific conditions (outside 
air temperature, humidity, etc) or under a specific period 
(instantaneous, one hour, one week).  Limits can be set to define a 
range of values corresponding to acceptable behavior and values that 
lie outside the range can indicate that a problem exists.   
4. The control logic tracer approach allows control algorithms to be 
visualized and understood by designers and operation managers. This 
understanding enables to diagnose failures by tracking down the 
causes when operation or control in a HVAC system fails. 
The annex has also address possible approaches for the implementation of the 
automation of commissioning.  It includes a description of the different possible 
architectures and a discussion about communication issues, data bases, and user 
interfaces. 
In addition to the description of these different techniques and on the approach 
to follow to implement them in a real BEMS, the final report describes 8 
automated tools tested during the annex. 
 
USE OF MODELS IN COMMISSIONING 
Models are more and more widely use for the design of HVAC components 
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and for the design of whole buildings and energy systems. The annex has 
developed approaches for the application of models for commissioning purposes. 
At the component levels two main use of models were studied. 1) Using 
models to perform Functional Performance Test. The goal is here to include the 
model in the Functional Performance Testing Procedure applied on site. 2) Using 
models to design tests. The goal is here to optimize the Functional Testing 
Procedure. In this case the models are used by the test designer but not by the 
persons who apply the tests. 
The step to follow in these two cases are described in the annex report. For 
performance test using models these steps are the followings: 
• Configure the models with manufacturer data and system 
design information 
• Perform an active test under a specific set of conditions to 
check initial performance 
• Analyse test result and fix possible problems 
• If needed perform again an active test 
• Re calibrate the model using results of active test 
• Monitor performance during on going operation.  
The annex also enabled to describe different architectures which can be 
applied to implement Functional Performance Test using models in real 
buildings. The architectures differ by the ways used to transfer information 
between models and measurements.  
Finally, in order to facilitate the use of models in commissioning the annex 
has collected a  model library which and a toolbox of software routines developed  
to help implementing model based functional testing tools at the component level. 
 
USE OF MODELS AT THE WHOLE BUILDING LEVEL 
A clear understanding of the different possible  use of models at the whole 
building level for commissioning was achieved by the annex. 6 categories were 
defined 
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Models may be used early in the design process – to assist in “commissioning” 
the design.  Typically, models configured for rapid use, such as TRNSYS Light, 
Enerwin, etc. are used for this purpose.  They may or may not be used for energy 
simulation.  This modelling is not used during the commissioning after 
construction. 
Use in the standard commissioning of new buildings.  A design simulation of 
the building may be used to predict heating cooling performance and the 
predictions may be compared with measured use –significant deviations then 
serve as clues to identify problems in the building. The design simulation should 
have the occupancy schedules changed if necessary to reflect the actual 
occupancy of the building.  Simulation may also be used at this stage to refine 
and optimize control strategies.  Relatively complex simulations are used for this 
purpose. 
Design simulation for on-going commissioning.  The same simulation 
developed in the design process may then be run at specified intervals, e.g. 
weekly, monthly, etc. and the model predictions compared with the measured 
energy consumption.  Deviations may serve to trigger an alarm when building 
performance degrades.  Diagnostics for the probable causes of such deviations 
need to be developed.  These simulations will probably be run off-line, but may 
be run on-line if the control system can accommodate the simulation. 
Use of calibrated simulation for retro-commissioning.  A rapidly calibrated 
simulation may be used as a diagnostic aid and to predict the savings that will be 
achieved from implementing proposed commissioning measures.   
Calibrated simulation for on-going commissioning.  The calibrated simulation 
developed in the retro-Cx process may then be run at specified intervals, e.g. 
weekly, monthly, etc. and the model predictions compared with the measured 
energy consumption.  Deviations may serve to trigger an alarm when building 
performance degrades.  Diagnostics for the probable causes of such deviations 
need to be developed.  These simulations may be run off-line or on-line if the 
control system can accommodate the simulation. 
Use of simulation to evaluate new control code.  Either the design simulation 
or a calibrated simulation may be used to test the energy impact of proposed 
changes in control code before implementation.  This will generally be done off-
line. 
A series of papers illustrating each one simulation applications will be 
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available on the annex CD. 
 
COMMISSIONING PROJECTS 
Most of the tools developed within the annex were applied in real 
commissioning projects. The annex report includes a synthesis of these projects. 
It gives a vision of the variety of applications of commissioning. 
 
ANNEX DELIVERABLES 
Three groups of deliverables will be publicly available in spring 2005 after a 
revision process manage by the executive committee of the AIE ECBCS. The 
annex report, a synthesis of the annex work will enable the interested readers to 
get in about 100 pages an overview of the annex work.  
The annex web site www.commissioning-hvac.org and CD will present in 
addition the detailed results of the annex: tools description, software presentation, 
commissioning site presentation… 
The ICEBO2004 conference enables a detailed description of many of the 
work tools developed within the annex. 
Acknowldegement 
This paper was produced on the basis of the work and documents prepared by 
annex 40 members (see list at www.commissioning-hvac.org)  
The annex work was subsidised by many international organisation, the annex 
management work was supported by ADEME, CSTB  and EDF. 
 
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Commissioning of Building HVAC Systems for Improved Energy Performance: A Summary of Annex 40 Results

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Commissioning of Building HVAC Systems for Improved Energy Performance: A Summary of Annex 40 Results

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