Introducing CGB

I am proud and excited to announce that HPAC Engineering will sponsor its first Commissioning Green Buildings (CGB) Conference and Expo Oct. 21 and 22 in Las Vegas. CGB will be co-located with the fifth annual Engineering Green Buildings (EGB) Conference and Expo at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Both conferences will feature excellent networking opportunities, cutting-edge educational sessions, and an exposition featuring the latest green technology and products.

So why CGB? For one, the green-building and sustainability initiative is gaining momentum. Green buildings have more value in the real-estate market and save energy. CGB also is a perfect bookend to EGB. As Portland Energy Conservation Inc. wrote in a paper titled "Commissioning to Meet Green Expectations," commissioning and green-building design have three things in common:

• Both involve a systems approach to buildings and their performance.
• Both view buildings from a life-cycle perspective.
• Both involve the need for increased attention during the design phase to ensure the design meets owner and occupant needs.

Another important reason for launching CGB is that attaining the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in a new or existing building has become the gold standard for verifying building performance. Therefore, commissioning takes on an even more important role to ensure that a new building's mechanical systems are achieving optimal performance.

Earning LEED certification for any of the nation's 5 million existing non-residential buildings represents a great opportunity for facility owners and managers, as well as mechanical-systems engineers and designers. Retrocommissioning, or ongoing commissioning, is essential to improving and optimizing building performance for existing buildings.

Plus, the size of the commissioning market is staggering. A study by FMI Corp., a consulting firm for the construction industry, reported that the commissioning market for new buildings increased from $114 million in 2001 to $806 million in 2004, a growth of more than 600 percent. FMI forecasts the commissioning market will grow another 65 percent over the next three years to become a $1.3 billion segment of the construction industry.

So there you have it--EGB and now CGB. The time is right.

Make sure to check HPAC Engineering and www.hpac.com for details.