Skip to content
  • Looking for Parts? Visit Trane Supply
  • Education Plattform

Select Your Language

Selecting a language changes the language and content on the Trane site.

  • United States English
  • Canada English
  • Argentina Spanish
  • Mexico Spanish
  • Brazil Portuguese Spanish
  • Aruba English
  • Bahamas English
  • Belize English
  • Bermuda English
  • Bolivia Spanish
  • Bonaire English
  • Cayman Islands English
  • Chile Spanish
  • Colombia Spanish
  • Costa Rica Spanish
  • Curacao English
  • Dominican Republic Spanish
  • Ecuador Spanish
  • El Salvador Spanish
  • Grenada English
  • Guadeloupe English
  • Guatemala Spanish
  • Guyana English
  • Haiti English
  • Jamaica English
  • Martinique English
  • Netherland Antilles English
  • Nicaragua Spanish
  • Panama Spanish
  • Paraguay Spanish
  • Peru Spanish
  • Puerto Rico Spanish
  • Saint Lucia English
  • St. Vincent & Grenadines English
  • Suriname English
  • Trinidad & Tobago English
  • Venezuela Spanish
  • Armenia English
  • Austria German
  • Belarus Russian
  • Belgium English
  • Croatia English
  • Czech Republic Czech
  • Denmark English
  • Estonia English
  • Finland English
  • France French
  • Georgia English
  • Germany German
  • Greece Greek
  • Hungary Hungarian
  • Israel English
  • Ireland English
  • Italy Italian
  • Kazakhstan Russian
  • Latvia English
  • Lithuania English
  • The Netherlands Dutch
  • Norway English
  • Poland English
  • Portugal Portuguese
  • Romania English
  • Russia Russian
  • Serbia Russian
  • Slovakia Czech
  • Slovenia English
  • Spain Spanish
  • Sweden English
  • Switzerland French German Italian
  • Turkey Turkish
  • Ukraine English
  • United Kingdom English
  • Azerbaijan Русский
  • Tajikistan Русский
  • Uzbekistan Русский
  • Turkmenistan Русский
  • United Arab Emirates English Arabic
  • Qatar English
  • Kuwait English
  • Egypt English
  • Lebanon English Arabic French
  • Iraq English
  • Jordan English
  • Mainland of China 选择语言
  • Korea, Republic of (South Korea) Korean
  • Vietnam Vietnamese
  • India English
  • Australia English
  • Japan Japanese
  • Guam English
  • Thailand Thai
  • Taiwan Traditional Chinese
  • Hong Kong SAR English
  • Indonesia English
  • Malaysia English
  • Philippines English
  • Singapore English
  • New Zealand English
  • Services
    • Services
    • Energy & Sustainability
      • Energy & Sustainability
      • Energy Monitoring & Analysis
      • Energy Supply
      • Active Energy Management
      • Renewable Energy & Distributed Energy Resources
      • Energy Conservation Measures (energy efficiency)
    • Operate, Maintain & Repair
      • Operate, Maintain & Repair
      • Connectivity & Cloud Services
      • HVAC System Management
      • HVAC System Repair
      • Rental
    • Upgrade & Modernize
      • Upgrade & Modernize
      • Building Systems
      • HVAC System Retrofits
      • HVAC Equipment Upgrades
      • Financing & Energy Services Contracting
      • Indoor Air Quality Assessment
      • Ready for now
  • Products
    • Products
    • VRF & Ductless Solutions
      • VRF & Ductless Solutions
      • N-Gen CITY MULTI VRF
      • P Series
      • Nv Series
      • VRF System Design
    • Chillers
      • Chillers
      • Water-Cooled Chillers
      • Air-Cooled Chillers
      • Cold Gen Scroll Chillers
    • Packaged Units & Split Systems
      • Packaged Units & Split Systems
      • Rooftop Units
      • Split Systems
      • Self-Contained Units
      • Water Source Heat Pumps
      • Dedicated Outdoor Air Units
    • Energy Management & Controls
      • Energy Management & Controls
      • Building Management Systems
      • Building Automation Systems
      • Trane® Air-Fi™ Wireless Systems
      • Controllers
      • Thermostats
      • Accessories
    • Air Handling
      • Air Handling
      • Terminals
      • Sensible-Cooling Terminal Unit
      • VAV (Variable Air Volume) Units
      • Performance Air Handlers
      • Air Handling Accessories & Controls
    • Energy Storage
      • Energy Storage
      • Energy Storage Systems
    • Precision Cooling
      • Precision Cooling
      • Precision Cooling
    • Residential Units
  • Industries
    • Industries
    • Higher Education
    • Indoor Agriculture
    • K-12
    • Data Centers
    • Restaurants
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Healthcare
    • Local Government
    • Hospitality
      • Hospitality
    • Industrial
  • About
    • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Customer Stories
    • Looking for Parts? Visit Trane Supply
    • Education Plattform
    • North America
      • North America

      • United States English
      • Canada English
    • Latin America
      • Latin America

      • Argentina Spanish
      • Mexico Spanish
      • Brazil Portuguese Spanish
      • Aruba English
      • Bahamas English
      • Belize English
      • Bermuda English
      • Bolivia Spanish
      • Bonaire English
      • Cayman Islands English
      • Chile Spanish
      • Colombia Spanish
      • Costa Rica Spanish
      • Curacao English
      • Dominican Republic Spanish
      • Ecuador Spanish
      • El Salvador Spanish
      • Grenada English
      • Guadeloupe English
      • Guatemala Spanish
      • Guyana English
      • Haiti English
      • Jamaica English
      • Martinique English
      • Netherland Antilles English
      • Nicaragua Spanish
      • Panama Spanish
      • Paraguay Spanish
      • Peru Spanish
      • Puerto Rico Spanish
      • Saint Lucia English
      • St. Vincent & Grenadines English
      • Suriname English
      • Trinidad & Tobago English
      • Venezuela Spanish
    • Europe
      • Europe

      • Armenia English
      • Austria German
      • Belarus Russian
      • Belgium English
      • Croatia English
      • Czech Republic Czech
      • Denmark English
      • Estonia English
      • Finland English
      • France French
      • Georgia English
      • Germany German
      • Greece Greek
      • Hungary Hungarian
      • Israel English
      • Ireland English
      • Italy Italian
      • Kazakhstan Russian
      • Latvia English
      • Lithuania English
      • The Netherlands Dutch
      • Norway English
      • Poland English
      • Portugal Portuguese
      • Romania English
      • Russia Russian
      • Serbia Russian
      • Slovakia Czech
      • Slovenia English
      • Spain Spanish
      • Sweden English
      • Switzerland French German Italian
      • Turkey Turkish
      • Ukraine English
      • United Kingdom English
      • Azerbaijan Русский
      • Tajikistan Русский
      • Uzbekistan Русский
      • Turkmenistan Русский
    • Middle East
      • Middle East

      • United Arab Emirates English Arabic
      • Qatar English
      • Kuwait English
      • Egypt English
      • Lebanon English Arabic French
      • Iraq English
      • Jordan English
    • Asia Pacific
      • Asia Pacific

      • Mainland of China 选择语言
      • Korea, Republic of (South Korea) Korean
      • Vietnam Vietnamese
      • India English
      • Australia English
      • Japan Japanese
      • Guam English
      • Thailand Thai
      • Taiwan Traditional Chinese
      • Hong Kong SAR English
      • Indonesia English
      • Malaysia English
      • Philippines English
      • Singapore English
      • New Zealand English
  • Energy & Sustainability
  • Operate, Maintain & Repair
  • Upgrade & Modernize
  • Energy Monitoring & Analysis
    Energy Monitoring & Analysis
  • Energy Supply
    Energy Supply
  • Active Energy Management
    Active Energy Management
  • Renewable Energy & Distributed Energy Resources
    Renewable Energy & Distributed Energy Resources
  • Energy Conservation Measures (energy efficiency)
    Energy Conservation Measures (energy efficiency)
More on Energy & Sustainability
  • Connectivity & Cloud Services
    Connectivity & Cloud Services
  • HVAC System Management
    HVAC System Management
  • HVAC System Repair
    HVAC System Repair
  • Rental
    Rental
More on Operate, Maintain & Repair
  • Building Systems
    Building Systems
  • HVAC System Retrofits
    HVAC System Retrofits
  • HVAC Equipment Upgrades
    HVAC Equipment Upgrades
  • Financing  & Energy Services Contracting
    Financing & Energy Services Contracting
  • Indoor Air Quality Assessment
    Indoor Air Quality Assessment
  • Ready for now.
    Ready for now
More on Upgrade & Modernize
  • VRF & Ductless Solutions
  • Chillers
  • Packaged Units & Split Systems
  • Energy Management & Controls
  • Air Handling
  • Energy Storage
  • Precision Cooling
  • Residential Units
  • N-Gen CITY MULTI VRF
    N-Gen CITY MULTI VRF
  • P Series
    P Series
  • Nv Series
    Nv Series
  • VRF System Design
    VRF System Design
More on VRF & Ductless Solutions
  • Water-Cooled Chillers
    Water-Cooled Chillers
  • Air-Cooled Chillers
    Air-Cooled Chillers
  • Cold Gen Scroll Chiller
    Cold Gen Scroll Chillers
More on Chillers
  • Rooftop Units
    Rooftop Units
  • Split Systems
    Split Systems
  • Self-Contained Units
    Self-Contained Units
  • Water Source Heat Pumps
    Water Source Heat Pumps
  • Dedicated Outdoor Air Units
    Dedicated Outdoor Air Units
More on Packaged Units & Split Systems
  • Building Management Systems
    Building Management Systems
  • Building Automation Systems
    Building Automation Systems
  • Trane® Air-Fi™ Wireless Systems
    Trane® Air-Fi™ Wireless Systems
  • Controllers
    Controllers
  • Thermostats
    Thermostats
  • Accessories
    Accessories
More on Energy Management & Controls
  • Terminal units
    Terminals
  • Sensible-Cooling Terminal Unit
    Sensible-Cooling Terminal Unit
  • VAV Units
    VAV (Variable Air Volume) Units
  • perf-CSAA
    Performance Air Handlers
  • Air Handling Accessories & Controls
    Air Handling Accessories & Controls
More on Air Handling
  • Energy Storage Systems
    Energy Storage Systems
More on Energy Storage
  • Precision Cooling
More on Precision Cooling
Read Customer Story

Creating a comfortable and inviting atmosphere for 1177 West Hastings

Higher Education K-12 Restaurants Healthcare Hospitality Industrial
Indoor Agriculture Data Centers Commercial Real Estate Local Government
Read Blog Post

4 Questions to Determine Your Equipment Upgrade Strategy

About Us Customer Stories
Contact Us

CONTACT A TRANE EXPERT

Puerto Rico Sales & Service Office

Energy Saving Control Strategies Continued: Preventative Maintenance and Recommissioning

By: Neil Maldeis

May 10, 2012

In the last post I talked about how a building control strategy works in tandem with a building automation system (BAS) to operate a building efficiently and optimally. In this post I'll talk about the different approaches for new construction versus existing buildings, and the recommended approaches to ongoing building maintenance.

New buildings versus retrofits
When it comes to building performance, a common mistake people make is to assume that newer buildings are automatically more efficient than older ones. Even for new buildings, it is critical to take inventory of how all of the equipment in the building is controlled and analyze performance to determine if adjustments are necessary.

When new buildings are built, often the engineers that designed and oversaw construction of the building  are only tasked with making sure the BAS meets the design specifications and is functionally operational.

Assuming the system  was properly configured and operating well at the start, it may soon grow quickly out of sync from its initial configuration.

For this reason, many design engineers will work side by side with BAS engineers and technicians during the construction phase to make sure the building automation equipment, software and systems are properly installed. This isn't always the case, however, and operators of newer buildings should be mindful to get periodic energy audits to help detect potential problems.

For retrofits, it's important to take a critical look at all existing building equipment and how it is controlled.  There may have been significant improvements in how to set up and properly optimize the equipment since its original installation date.

Preventative Maintenance and Recommissioning
While continuous monitoring would be the optimal solution to truly maximize building performance, at a minimum the building's systems should be checked on a monthly or quarterly basis as part of a preventative maintenance schedule.

Any type of preventative maintenance approach is better than none. Ignoring basic preventative maintenance is taking a costly "run-to-fail" approach.  After all, anything that is mechanical in nature is going to require service and will at some point fail. To think it won't is foolish. With a run-to-fail approach, you have no control over when that costly failure occurs.

For larger retrofit jobs, a building owner  might have an engineering consultant manage the project. However, in many cases, the building owner will consult directly with a provider, like Trane, whose experts review the building and its systems, provide options and recommendations for updating and optimizing BAS equipment, as well as properly tuning the control system, including equipment sequencing.

Even doing a simple check-up or tuning of existing controls can do a lot of good.  In fact, building operators can potentially save 10 to 20 percent on their energy  consumption just by tuning up controls, correcting simple problems such as overwritten schedules and fixing sequencing issues.

Taking it a step further, existing buildings may want to consider "recommissioning" older equipment.
Recommissioining is going back and commissioning building systems to operate at their original design specifications. From the time a piece of equipment is installed, it begins to degrade in performance. If new equipment isn't properly set up to begin with, it may not be living up to its performance promises.

Recommissioning returns the equipment as close to its original design specifications, and, done correctly, will bring an entire system into better balance to improve overall building performance.

Higher level service agreements employ continuous recommissioning, but all building owners should include periodic recommissioning to maximize the performance and lifespan of equipment. Proper maintenance that employs preventative and predictive maintenance practices will likely not need recommissioning, but even buildings built in the last one or two years can suffer from poor performance from their building systems if those systems aren't monitored and maintained.

Looking For Parts?

Visit Trane Supply

For General and Corporate Questions:

Contact Us
  • About Trane
  • Customer Stories
  • Locate a Sales Office
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Environmental Compliance
  • Quality
  • Ethical Business Conduct
  • Supplier Terms
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Privacy Policy  |   Terms of Use

Trane Technologies