The Aichi Prefectural Environmental Research Center / Aichi Prefectural Institute of Public Health, for which our company undertook commissioning*1, won the First Place ASHRAE Technology Award in the II: Other Institutional - EBCx Category of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) in February 2025, together with Taisei Corporation, Nagoya University, and Nagoya Industrial Science Research Institute.
It also received the Commissioning Award from the Society of Heating, Air-conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan in fiscal 2025, together with Taisei Corporation, Aichi Prefecture, Taisei-Yuraku Real Estate Co., Ltd., and Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd.
ASHRAE and the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of America Commissioning Award from the Society of Heating emphasize commissioning.
Building evaluation standards, such as LEED established in the United States and CASBEE in Japan, also provide additional points for conducting commissioning.
Why is that?
*1 Kume Sekkei was also responsible for preliminary design, design supervision, and construction supervision.
In buildings where commissioning is not conducted, the required building performance is often unclear, and design and construction are carried out without a clear understanding of the requirements.
By conducting commissioning, the required performance becomes clear, and those involved in each phase of ordering, design, and construction can take steps to achieve the required performance.
Furthermore, even if a building's performance meets or exceeds ZEB Ready standards in theoretical calculations, it will not contribute to the goal of CO2 emission reduction, which is the primary purpose of promoting ZEB, unless its actual energy consumption during operation also meets ZEB Ready standards.
The important factor is the actual amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere.
Commissioning during operation enables you to monitor energy consumption and CO2 emissions, allowing you to make appropriate operational improvements that will help reduce CO2 emissions.
Among industrial products, automobiles undergo extensive durability testing of parts, driving tests, and other tests under various environments before entering mass production.
In the case of buildings, however, there are no environmental testing facilities large enough to accommodate entire structures.
It is impossible to obtain sufficient test data until the building has operated through all four seasons, and it is also impossible to conduct preliminary tests for all possible uses of the building in advance.
Commissioning during operation helps verify operating data, facilitating operational improvements based on a shared understanding among architects, builders, and operators, which leads to further energy conservation.
Commissioning is the process of achieving the target performance specified in the owner's project requirements (OPR) presented by the client.
It is also referred to as performance verification.
It verifies whether architectural and facility design documents, as well as construction-related documents, meet the required performance standards, and whether the operational status meets the performance requirements.
This process is recommended for application in all phases, from planning and design to construction, operation, and maintenance.
Commissioning ensures that the quality required by the client is achieved, energy efficiency and operating costs are optimized, and the building's performance is maintained over the long term.
The process also contributes to further reducing environmental impact, which is essential for achieving carbon neutrality.
OPR is a document provided by the owner that describes qualitative and quantitative requirements for architectural planning, environmental performance, and energy efficiency of a building.
The following is an example related to architectural planning:
・Shielding from the sun and thermal insulation of the outer skin
・Natural lighting
The following are examples related to environmental performance and energy efficiency.
・Aiming for Nearly ZEB level.
・Aiming for a ★★★★★ rating under the Building Energy Efficiency Labeling System (BELS).
・Achieving an S rank under the Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Performance (CASBEE).
To conduct commissioning, a performance verification team (CT) and a performance verification management team (CMT) are formed to advance the project in a manner that maximizes the roles of the owner and the parties involved in each phase.
Issues and matters for consideration are identified at the commissioning meeting (Cx meeting).
CMT and the architect (or the builder/supervisor) exchange information and hold discussions to resolve issues. At Cx meetings, the owner, CMT, architects, and other parties involved in each phase decide on how to respond.
Documentation is essential for commissioning.
This is because, in the event of personnel changes among the CT, the person taking over must be accurately informed of the specifics of the commissioning process.
To convey the CMT and the architect's intentions, it is essential to create the plans, design documents, and manuals listed below and communicate their contents to the contractor, supervisor, building manager, and users, thereby fulfilling the requirements specified in the OPR.
During the construction phase, functional performance tests are conducted separately from the completion inspection to verify that operation and maintenance can be performed as required by the OPR.
In the operational phase, as mentioned earlier, we iterate operational improvements based on accumulated data and analysis to achieve more ideal operations.
Through this commissioning process, the building can perform better than initially anticipated.
