This will be a quick post where I'll link you with some resources that came up during a recent CSE web cast I participated in regarding Green High Tech facilities.  My focus was on commissoining and several folks were  interested in resources regarding the costs and benefits of commissoining and how LEED and green practices impact these costs.  Probably one of the most comprehensive cost benefit resources out there is a meta study that was put together by Lawrence Berkeley National Labs under the leadership of Evan Mills.  The report is loaded with useful information and references numerous resources on the topic.

Ron Wilkinson wrote a good article on establishing commissioning fees that appeared in the 2000 ASHRAE Journal, vol. 42, no. 2, p. 41-47.  This article  looks at fees a number of ways but does not get into the impact of LEED or other green construction and operating practices. In 2002, PECI took the rules of thumb that Ron developed and expanded upon them,  including a discussion of things that can break them, like LEED and complex buildings.

A good general commissoining resource is the California Commissionign Colaborative's website, which is full of commissoining resources, including an on-line library that contains quite a few case studies.  Case studies are valuable tools for convincing Owners about the benefits of commissioning because they provide a window into how the process worked for others.  Learning to talk the Owner's talk and take the Owner's perspective is an important skill to develop when you are trying to sell commissioning.  RealWinWin provides a number  of resources on their web site to help you understand how to present the benefits of commissioning and other processes that conserve energy and save  resources in economic terms that make sense to Owners.

Non-energy Benefits (NEBs) are an often over-looked area where the economic benefits of commissioning can be compounded for Owners. For instance, in addition to improving efficiency, a grocerystore owner may find that they loose less product as a result of the improved performance that results from a typical commissioning process.  Adding the cost savings associated with non energy benefits to the over-all savings equation can improve the return on investment, making the process more appealing to many Owners, who are often driven by financial bottom lines.  Lisa Skumatz has done a lot of research to put numbers on NEBs in different market sectors and published at least two papers at ACEEE, the most recent of which can be found on the California Commissoining Colaborative's web site.

Finally, if you are really interested in learning more about what resources are out there, Pacifc Gas and Electric's Pacific Energy Center is offering a class called Resources for the Resourceful on Tuesday, December 4th.  The first part of the class will be a web broadcast that anyone anywhere can attend free of charge.  If you attend the class live at the Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco, then you can stick around for the afternoon session, were several of the resources will be explored and demonstrated via hand-on activities.