Guide to Conversion of Traditional Buildings

6.7 Commissioning building services

Mandatory Standard

Standard 6.7

Every building must be designed and constructed in such a way that energy

supply systems, control systems and building services which use fuel or power for heating, lighting, ventilating and cooling the internal environment and heating the water, are commissioned to achieve effective operation and

optimum energy efficiency.

Limitation:

This standard does not apply to:

a) major power plants serving the National Grid

b) the process and emergency lighting components of a building

c) heating provided solely for the purpose of frost protection, or

d) energy supply systems used solely for industrial and commercial processes, leisure use and emergency use within a building.

6.7.1 Application of standard to conversions

In the case of conversions, as specified in regulation 4, the building as converted shall meet the requirement of this standard (regulation 12, schedule 6).

6.7.2 Commentary

This standard mandates that all building services and controls should be inspected and commissioned in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions to enable optimum energy efficiency. Guidance and supplementary information are given in the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide for Scotland.

There is no reason that this standard cannot be met in full within conversions and other buildings or projects to which this guidance applies. However, in some cases, there may be issues in accessing existing services, difficulty obtaining commissioning and performance information for existing services and occasionally problems in finding the right skills and expertise to commission older equipment.