Building Commissioning Market to Grow in North America This Decade

The global building commissioning market will gross $28.8 billion between 2012 and 2020, Pike Research predicts in its new study, “Building Optimization and Commissioning Services”. North America will make up nearly half of the global revenue, with $13.8 billion, the research group expects.
Pike Research believes that the market was previously limited because of lack of awareness, but that it will grow this decade as green building standards and certification promote the activity and its benefits. It will also become more popular as building management systems (BMS), which can provide continuous commissioning, become more commonplace.

LEED and Commissioning

The commissioning market’s growth is partially driven by LEED, which requires it as a prerequisite in many of its 2009 rating systems. It also offers points for going above and beyond the fundamental process and participating in additional commissioning activities.
USGBC is balloting the new version of LEED, v4, in summer 2013. The rating systems that previously had commissioning prerequisites will continue to have them, but in some, the optional credits for additional commissioning activities will be assigned more points than in the 2009 rating systems, which means that it is considered more important to green building than before. For example, the 2009 New Construction rating system offered 2 points for Energy and Atmosphere (EA) Credit 2, Enhanced Commissioning, while the v4 rating system will offer 6 points for the credit. This will likely further the demand for commissioning agents in the remainder of the decade.

How Do I Become a Commissioning Agent?

Since the market for commissioning is expected to grow this decade, especially in North America, the demand for commissioning agents (CxAs) should also increase. To take advantage of this, current or aspiring green building professionals may want to become CxAs.

Commissioning agents must become certified before working on a project. Certifications are provided by organizations such as ASHRAE, Building Commissioning Association, the Association of Energy Engineers, the University of Wisconsin, and The Associated Air Balance Council (AABC) Commissioning Group (ACG). These certification programs often require a B.S. in engineering, experience on commissioning projects (such as through an apprenticeship), and passing an exam.
A CxA who wants to work on a LEED project may also benefit from the Green Associate or AP credentials, which demonstrate knowledge of the rating systems.