SERVICES

Building Evolution Corporation provides performance consulting for each phase of your building’s lifespan, whether it is new construction, renovation, or establishing a baseline of existing conditions

Performance Facility Conditions Assessment (FCA)

BEC will develop an overview of the facility by investigating the performance issues, determine the current facility baseline and evaluating capital needs and existing deferred maintenance. We prioritize projects for further investigation and implementation over the next 5, 10, 20 years as a performance focused capital plan for the facility.

Energy and Performance Assessment (Level I, II, III)

We build off projects from the FCA. If a FCA has not been performed, one will be performed. This assessment is specific to certain performance issues with a building, determining the cause and an actionable solution to the problem.

Retro-Commissioning (RCx)

BEC will perform RCx when building systems were never commissioned at the time of construction or are out of warranty. We will review the building systems, develop specific testing plans, and determine where the systems do not meet the current facility requirements.

Quality Assurance (HVAC Cx, Enclosure Cx, Owners Rep)

BEC will work on the clients’ behalf to help ensure quality of new construction and building upgrade projects on both HVAC and enclosure systems. We work from assisting with the Owners Project Requirements (OPR) throughout building operations to ensure optimum performance and cost effectiveness.

PHIUS Passive House Consulting

BEC provides PHIUS Passive Building Consulting to advise building owners and design teams on how to improve buildings and their systems to achieve PHIUS+ 2015 certification, reducing energy consumption, improving indoor environmental quality, and increased comfort.

Operations and Maintenance Guidance

We develop an effective System O&M manual and schedule for the building systems that can be updated with system updates. We work with building staff to ensure effective operational practices are implemented.

Continuous Commissioning (CCx)

BEC will work with clients to continuously ensure that the building and its subsystems meet the needs of the OPR. We will monitor conditions against Current Facility Requirements and recommend modifications as needed.

Performance Facility Conditions Assessment (FCA)

Facility owners and management understand the operational expenses, routine maintenance, and reactive repairs, but performance focused capital planning can be a powerful tool if implemented successfully. BEC goes beyond the status-quo of replacement-in-kind; we develop projects that improve the facilities performance and durability; we help to understand sustainability, building performance, and energy improvements. Holistic investigation will solve the underlying problems, not the symptoms. Performance is achieved through lifecycle upgrades that leverage capital investments relative to the long-term goals of the client.

BEC will combine expertise of systems commissioning, operations, and building sciences to develop capital improvement plans to achieve high performance and durable systems. Clients gain a better understanding of their facilities, and the FCA provides projects that will correct fundamental building issues and failures.

Energy and Performance Assessments (Level I, II, III)

BEC assists building owners by performing focused assessments on systems that affect the performance of the building, and prioritize projects based on holistic interaction of all building systems, including enclosure upgrades, not just a HVAC system. At times this assessment is a follow-up to the prioritized issues discovered within the FCA. During the facility assessment we observe any issues with building systems, operational procedures, controls systems and sequences of operations and work with building owners to implement successful projects. We shift focus from Simple Payback (SPB) to Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) of projects when prioritizing projects with clients and evaluate available funding mechanisms for the projects. Investing in Energy and Performance projects lower operating costs and can attract more tenants with lower utility burdens.

Our holistic approach to building systems and experience in project prioritization helps our clients improve building performance, value, quality and comfort through successful project implementation.

Retro-Commissioning (RCx)

RCx promotes high performance operations of building systems, reducing maintenance issues, and at times extending the lifespan of equipment. BEC works with the building owners and O&M team by analyzing, planning and implementing functional testing that will confirm if the existing systems meet the Current Facility Requirements; I.E. does the current systems meet the needs of the current building occupants and operations. When systems or components do not perform, BEC develops a prioritized issues list, strongly advocating for performance improvements to the building, and we work with the client to achieve successful implementation of the upgrades and improvements.

Once buildings have had RCx performed, we work with clients to Re-Commission (Re-Cx) buildings on regular time intervals, and when possible implement Continuous Commissioning (CCx) to ensure optimum building performance and comfort. See Wesley’s publication “The Art of Commissioning” for more reasons to perform RCx and CCx.

Building System Commissioning (HVAC and Enclosure)

BEC provides holistic solutions to clients, providing HVAC & Enclosure commissioning. Buildings are comprised of many components that collectively comprise of potentially competing systems that are expected to work effectively and efficiently in harmony with each other, satisfying occupant comfort and indoor air quality requirement. Experience shows that all buildings have varying scales of system failures. Commissioning is a process that ensures performance of HVAC and enclosure systems, by systematically reviewed, tested, and ensure quality control between components of interactive systems. The primary goals are to ensure systems are suitable for the facility needs, ensure optimum performance and reduce O&M costs.

Building Evolution has extensive experience in building science of why building systems fail, how to ensure peak performance. We also understand the value of Cx, especially the value of implementing the findings within RCx; our principal founder performed published research on the benefits of implementation of the corrective measures.

Many classify Cx into two forms, typically “Fundamental” vs “Enhanced”. Fundamental Cx is essentially the testing of installed equipment within the construction phase, or in other words the quality control of the construction. Enhanced is the actual Cx process, or quality assurance of the overall project. With Enhance Cx, if it is discovered during the testing that the design or construction did not meet the OPR it is probably too expensive to make the correction. With Cx it is important to start within the design phase, it is most cost effective to make improvements to a system if it has not been installed, and it has the greatest impact. For each subsequent phase, the cost to implement the fix becomes exponential to the previous.

Enclosure Cx should start during the design phase to ensure the correct details and materials are selected, and then towards the start of the enclosure construction phase with inspections of the initial installations and/or mock-ups onsite to allow for corrections before too much work has been completed.

BEC works with clients to develop and tailor suitable HVAC & Enclosure Cx scopes for each construction and renovation project

Owner's Representative

Building Evolution is an Owner’s Representative (Owners Rep) during construction, renovation, and maintenance upgrades within our client’s buildings. We act on our client’s behalf and their best interests during projects, to ensure that the original Owners Project Requirements (OPR) and intent is achieved, resulting in improved project quality. For example, our Owners Rep services range from contractor selection assistance, quality control of works performed, and technically interfacing with the contractors on behalf of clients.

We also offer Construction Management Agency services, managing the projects on behalf of the client. We maintain being a third-party trusted partner with clients by “not being at risk”, I.E. being responsible for quality and management of the project implementation, exclusively acting on behalf of our clients, where the clients hold the contracts directly with the contractors.

PHIUS Passive House Consulting

BEC provides PHIUS Passive Building Consulting to advise building owners and design teams on how to improve buildings and their systems by applying PHIUS+ 2015 principles and achieving certification. The PHIUS+2015: Passive Building Standard – North America, was developed with Building Science Corporation under a U.S. DOE Building America Grant, developing climate-specific performance criteria to achieve optimum and cost-effective performance.

A PHIUS+ 2015 is a cost-effective first step to achieve Net-Zero-Energy and Carbon-Neutral facilities; reducing building energy demand through a cost-effective approach. PHIUS+ 2015 is one of the highest building performance standards and results in improved IEQ and comfort, while using a fraction of the energy consumption of a conventional building. The PHIUS Passive Building Consulting is a complement to the existing HVAC and enclosure services provided at BEC.

Contact BEC for more information on working with us on PHIUS Passive Building projects.

Operations and Maintenance Guidance (O&M)

BEC applies our experience of building enclosure and HVAC systems to ongoing building operations, developing methods to improve systems maintenance schedules and processes. We provide hands-on training with the building staff on system and controls operations. We also develop user friendly Systems Manuals for the building that provides the building operator a concise location to review the HVAC systems interaction through color coded single line diagrams, Sequences of Operations (SOO), operational schedules, and troubleshooting methodologies written specifically for the building.

Through RCx or CCx, BEC will update the O&M procedures and Systems Manual with changes to the systems, refine operational plan and Sequences of Operations (SOO) for the buildings.

Continuous Commissioning (CCx)

BEC will develop as systems with the client that will continuously monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on building systems and provide real-time feedback on how the building is operating. We understand our clients Current Facility Requirements (CFR) when performing Commissioning (Cx); I.E. we understand what you need for IAQ and space conditions. If the building systems are not able to efficiently and/or effectively achieve the CFR we react by developing modifications to the control Sequence of Operations (SOO) and O&M procedures.

138 Green Street, Suite 203

Worcester, MA 01604 USA

(508) 475-9016

info@buildingevo.com