For years the top two facility complaints, of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and the International Facility Managers Association (IFMA) members, have been the tenants are too hot or too cold.  No matter how expertly a facility is planned, designed, constructed and maintained there will always be some unhappy tenants.  For tenant comfort to be the number one and number two tenant complaint, consistently over the years, many tenants must be uncomfortable not just a very small minority.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recognized the building owner’s complaints and formally began work on the commissioning process in 1982.  ASHRAE formed a committee to create a process that would ensure a more functional Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system and address the building owners’ complaints:

• Troublesome HVAC systems
• Tenants were not comfortable
• High energy consumption
• Poorly trained maintenance staff

In 1989, ASHRAE released Guideline 1 The HVAC Commissioning Process to provide guidance to professionals in designing, constructing and maintaining more functional HVAC systems.  Guideline 1 was updated in 1996 and is the current issue of The HVAC Commissioning Process.  ASHRAE released the draft copy of Guideline 0 The Commissioning Process for public comment in August 2002.  Guideline 0 is intended to provide guidance to professionals with the generic commissioning process so it can be applied to other building systems such as fenestration, roofs, fire/life safety, etc.

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