The Case For Commissioning

Long considered a requirement of high-performance building, two recent projects present new angles on commissioning.

January 2008
[ Page 7 of 7 ]

By Sara Hart

Instructions

Questions:

Program Code: 107GSSP1
LU: 1

1. Which factor did not contribute to the reasons why energy-saving HVAC systems were not specified 20 years ago?
a. Energy costs were low
b. Energy-saving systems were complex
c. Energy-saving systems were expensive
d. Ease of maintenance was not important

2. For which type of construction is commissioning done?
a. Only buildings in coastal regions are commissioned
b. Only ships are commissioned
c. Commissioning can be done for any kind of building
d. All commercial buildings are commissioned

3. A building management system’s sequence of operation performs what primary role?
a. Orients the building on the site
b. Explains facility cleaning procedures
c. Provides the programming basis for the mechanical system
d. Archives the design process

4. Why do technologically advanced buildings need to be commissioned?
a. To make sure each system alone works properly
b. To make sure the interdependent systems work well together
c. To let the systems adjust themselves
c. To allow the client to evaluate the system design

5. The GSA’s Public Buildings Service’s Total Building Commissioning process for quality assurance is used for all except which?
a. New construction
b. Facility modernization
c. Documenting the performance of the total building and its systems
d. Validating the credentials of the design team

6. The SFFB, which was intended to be a model of sustainable design, has all except which of these features?
a. A large footprint
b. Skip-stop elevators
c. Natural ventilation
d. Passive and active shading

7. Which term means “the lessons learned from the SFFB will be applied to future federal buildings”?
a. Pay out
b. Cash-in
c. Feed-forward
d. Pay back

8. Enovity will monitor energy use for the first 18 months after occupancy for which reason?
a. To recalibrate the HVAC systems
b. To verify the SFFB exceeds Title 24 by 15 percent
c. To determine which system uses the most energy
d. To reduce the energy usage another 10 percent

9. What is the goal of functional testing?
a. To ensure there are no malfunctioning devices
b. To see if the control system can correct a malfunctioning device
c. To determine which device is likely to malfunction
d. To determine which device has already malfunctioned

10. In order to encourage manufacturers to provide a lighting and shading solution, the New York Times did all except which step?
a. Teamed up with LBNL and public funding for research
b. Conducted tests on commercially available shading devices and daylight harvesting
c. Gave a stipend to invited manufacturers to develop and prove their products performed
d. Monitored human factors at the old office location

 

[ Page 7 of 7 ]
Originally published in the January 2008 issue of GreenSource.

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