Let's Go Green by (Re)Commissioning

Inside Higher Ed's anonymous "Getting to Green" blogger, G. Rendell, describes "commissioning" and "recommissioning" and talks about how the recommissioning can have high sustainability value:

Recommissioning, by comparison, is going through a building which has been in operation for a number of years, and bringing it back "into spec". Whether or not it performed on its first day of duty as it was originally intended to, take steps to fix whatever problems now exist. And problems will, in fact, exist . . . Recomissioning isn't particularly cheap. But it usually pays for itself in 1 - 3 years, based on simple energy savings calculations. Think of it as "deferred maintenance" in the most positive possible sense. Really, it's just intelligent building operation -- the buildling, itself, doesn't have to be intelligent, but the operator clearly does.