Applying AI to Commissioning (Part 1) by Dave Furrer, PE
In the past year, AI technology has made its way to the forefront of the public eye. Many industries, including commissioning, have been left wondering how the technology will change the way they do business. In this blog post, I will explore ChatGPT’s recommendations for…
Axial Fan Inspection for Commissioning by Dave Furrer, PE
Inspection of axial fans for commissioning is a critical step in ensuring the efficiency, safety, and reliability of industrial and HVAC systems. As part of a deeper dive into equipment manufacturer’s literature, I’ve put together an overview of the procedure for inspecting axial fans with…
Assessing Initial TAB Conditions for Chiller Replacement by Dave Furrer, PE
Without knowing initial conditions, renovating existing mechanical systems can result in flow and performance issues. Often, an existing system may come out of balance over the years or be modified from the original design and incorrectly assumed that replacing failed equipment with like-for-like will resolve…
GSA Contract Holder
Elevate Building Commissioning is now a GSA multiple award schedule (MAS) contract holder! Please contact us for your government commissioning contracting needs. The below is a blurb from the GSA website as a brief summary of reasons to use a GSA Schedule for government contracting….
Hired!
We are excited to have added Roxanna Magallanes as our second full time engineer hire! With nearly 12 years of electrical systems experience, she brings a special depth of electrical knowledge and field experience to our team. Roxanna was a nuclear reactor operations and maintenance…
Thermal Gain
Weather in Hillsboro, OR has been HOT recently, and this is the largest cooling load many of our projects have ever seen. To make sure the equipment is working as intended, Caleb Aring and I have been reviewing trends and performing off-season tests. At one…
Earth Day Spotlight
Elevate is proud to be featured by the Wild Salmon Center in their current newsletter. Our relationship with Wild Salmon Center is a rewarding piece of our business. The timing is also special for us because today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. We…
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to our friends and clients! 2019 was a great (and quick) year for our Elevate family. We hit some important milestones including an office move from Nathan’s spare room to our new St Johns office and we received our 50th project. It…
The Test, Adjust and Balance (TAB) Kick-off!
One of my favorite components of our job is participating in the work completed by the TAB contractor. Their behind the scenes roll is critical to a well-functioning building and TAB work is often squeezed into a challenging time frame at the very end of…
1% For The Planet and The Wild Salmon Center
Elevate is excited to announce our partnership with the Wild Salmon Center! Through our 1% for the Planet commitment and partnership, we are giving 1% of our 2018 revenue to the Wild Salmon Center. The Wild Salmon Center works to protect key salmon watersheds along…
Data Logger Field Experience
Elevate Building Commissioning recently deployed the Hobo MX100 data loggers on an existing building project. They were new for us so we thought we would share our experience using these small loggers. These loggers are temperature only and have Bluetooth read out capability. We did…
2017 Retrospective: A Year In Hindsight
2017 was by all accounts a special year for our small Elevate family. Catie and I welcomed baby Waylon in May. Nathan and his wife, Stefanie, moved back to the Pacific Northwest and bought a house making Portland their new home. Waylon’s grandma moved across…
Air Handling Unit Control: Energy Recovery Wheel
Energy recovery wheels with bypass dampers are commonly installed as part of your dedicated outdoor air handling unit. The effectiveness of energy transfer has improved as energy wheel technology has improved. When and when not to use the energy wheel continues to be a source…
Building Maintenance: Winter Preparation
Winter is coming for most of us in the northern hemisphere and that means it’s time to perform some last-minute maintenance checks on your HVAC system. Here are some maintenance items to check to prevent later, larger issues. • Determine what isn’t working prior to…
Networked Lighting Controls: LEDs and Simplicity
Lighting technology has made huge strides in recent years. LEDs are here to stay while the various lighting controls options continue to grow in number and complexity. LEDs appear to be the clear winner for providing electric light. They are significantly more efficient and longer…
Air Handling Unit Control: Night Setback & Free Cooling
The building automation system (BAS) has the capability to perform whole building, complex sequence of operations. Two simple sequences that lead to big energy savings are night setback and free cooling. A complex air delivery system or a basic packaged rooftop unit with a stand-alone…
Do I Need A Commissioning Systems Manual?
First and foremost, many energy programs give you points for enhanced commissioning including the turnover of a commissioning systems manual as a requirement. More points typically translates to a more efficient building and more accolades. Aside from that, as building systems become more and more…
Press Release: Elevate Building Commissioning Joins 1% for the Planet
Elevate Building Commissioning, LLC (Elevate) Announces Membership with 1% for the Planet Portland, Oregon, 5/10/2017 – Elevate Building Commissioning, LLC joined 1% for the Planet, pledging to donate 1% of annual sales to support nonprofit organizations focused on the environment.”Our member companies have donated more…