Modern Building Services

14 MODERN BUILDING SERVICES NOVEMBER 2021 FEATURE COMMISSIONING COMMISSIONING M any people were understandably anxious as they returned to offices and other places of work this autumn. While the past 18 months have been far from business as usual, they have created a welcome motivation among building operators to give serious consideration to the re- commissioning of heating and hot water systems. For some organisations, working from home has also become a more regular trend making building occupancy levels much more fluid. Recommissioning allows for the re- setting of controls and timers to suit new patterns of working and keep the heating and hot water systems operating energy efficiently. Facilities managers are also extremely mindful of direct risks to health and safety such as the possible build-up of legionella in water systems that have been dormant for some months. So, a key part of any recommissioning strategy should pay close attention to the Health & Safety Executive’s L8 guidance. For some building owners, the mothballing and reactivation of a building might also present an ideal time to consider a complete refurbishment and upgrade of heating and hot water systems. This will help to keep occupants comfortable, improve energy efficiency (especially in older buildings) and perhaps allow for adoption of low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps. Support The government was due to introduce its proposed Heat and Building strategy as this article went to press, but there have already been successful support mechanisms in place for a switch to low-carbon heating. For example, the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (operated by Salix) has completed its second tranche of grants for eligible buildings, and this may be extended in the future. While health and wellbeing are an important focus for building owners, reducing carbon from the built environment is very much at the forefront of government policy. The Future Buildings Standard was published by government earlier this year and sets out potential policies for making buildings more energy efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels. Although updates to Part L of the Building Regulations are not due to be introduced until 2022, it is already clear fromproposals that government intends to push hard onmechanisms such as MEES (MinimumEnergy Efficiency Standards) for commercial buildings. Currently, MEES rules require a minimumEPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating for a commercial building of E. A commercial landlord cannot lease a property that only achieves an F or G rating. However, it is highly likely that this minimum will be raised to a C or B in the next few years. Since HVAC equipment is such a large energy user in commercial buildings, updating key services such as heating and hot water could be a wise investment for future-proofing commercial property values. Alternatively, there is a very real danger that many commercial buildings could become so-called ‘stranded assets’ because if they fail to achieve EPC ratings of E and above they will no longer be lettable. According to the real estate management firm Colliers this could affect more than 10% of all London office buildings, for example. Retrofitting existing buildings to make themmore sustainable could cost developers about £200 per square foot compared with £300 per foot to build from scratch. Higher MEES for commercial premises could lead to many having to be demolished. As well as being more expensive, rebuilding from scratch has major embodied carbon implications, which also flies in the face of the government’s net zero ambitions. On a mission to commission safer and greener buildings Employers were already putting a lot more effort into safeguarding the mental and physical well-being of their workforces even before the pandemic. Commissioning and recommissioning building services will now play an even bigger role in providing reassurance, safety and carbon reductions, according to Lochinvar’s Product Manager, Steve Addis .