What is LEED Commissioning?

LEED certification, also sometimes referred to as “Green Buildings” stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a voluntary certification program offered through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to ensure that development projects meet certain standards based on measurable “metrics” for sustainability. It includes verification and compliance with theses metrics in 6 broad categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Environmental Air Quality and Innovation and Design. Each of these categories contains certain design or performance pre-requisites and credits to be earned to enable the project to become certified. There are various levels of certification depending upon the goals for the project. Fundamental and Advanced Commissioning of the project enables you to earn credits to be counted towards certification.

Commissioning is the process by which the building’s energy and related systems are installed, calibrated, tested and perform according to the project’s requirements, the basis of design and construction documents.

It has been found that the benefits of commissioning a project results in lower energy and operating costs once the project is completed.

Commissioning includes designation of an individual or agency to lead, review and oversee the commissioning activities. The commissioning of a project includes development and implementation of a commissioning plan to verify the installation and performance of energy systems and a summary commissioning report.

The commissioning agent should be independent of the owner and works closely with the design team. Land Planning Systems, in conjunction with our network of professional development contractors, offers commissioning services for those projects seeking LEED certification.