For a project with very high sustainability goals and risk of equipment obsolescence in 5-10 years, what is the recommended course of action?

For a project with very high sustainability goals and risk of equipment obsolescence in 5-10 years, what is the recommended course of action?

• A. Use only state of the art technology in the design
• B. Plan to update equipment and perform retro-commissioning
• C. Remove the warranty period
• D. Accept that it will be impossible to further reduce energy use

Answer: (B)

Facing very high sustainability goals while the risk of equipment obsolescence looms, the best path is to plan for updating the equipment and to perform retro-commissioning. Updating equipment over time ensures systems can take advantage of newer, more efficient technologies, while retro-commissioning rechecks and tunes the building systems to current performance targets. This process identifies and corrects drift in control sequences, sensors, and setpoints, ensuring energy use stays aligned with the sustainability goals as equipment ages or is replaced. Relying only on the latest tech can lead to unnecessary cost and complexity without guaranteeing sustained performance if ongoing commissioning and tuning aren’t maintained. Removing warranties removes a safety net against failures during operation. And accepting that further energy reductions aren’t possible conflicts with the goal of continuous improvement through maintenance, upgrades, and optimization.

Facing very high sustainability goals while the risk of equipment obsolescence looms, the best path is to plan for updating the equipment and to perform retro-commissioning. Updating equipment over time ensures systems can take advantage of newer, more efficient technologies, while retro-commissioning rechecks and tunes the building systems to current performance targets. This process identifies and corrects drift in control sequences, sensors, and setpoints, ensuring energy use stays aligned with the sustainability goals as equipment ages or is replaced.

Relying only on the latest tech can lead to unnecessary cost and complexity without guaranteeing sustained performance if ongoing commissioning and tuning aren’t maintained. Removing warranties removes a safety net against failures during operation. And accepting that further energy reductions aren’t possible conflicts with the goal of continuous improvement through maintenance, upgrades, and optimization.