Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed the following training resources to help re-tune small (<100,000 sf) commercial buildings without building automation systems (BASs).

We also encourage you to explore additional general resources we have collected for training and education on building re-tuning, including publications, presentations, and other downloads, and related websites.

Training

The purpose of the Small Buildings Re-Tuning Training Course is to help building operations staff to learn how to operate buildings more efficiently, reduce operating cost and provide energy savings. The knowledge and skills learned through the training will be highly valued by organizations and companies seeking to improve the performance of their buildings.

The focus is on small (<100,000 sf) commercial buildings that do not have BASs. These buildings have packaged units for heating and cooling with simple air distribution, and are controlled by a zone thermostat. Many of the recommendations for small building re-tuning are prescriptive. However, for buildings that do have a BAS, some of the concepts and techniques presented can still be applied.

The intended audience for the building re-tuning training includes:

• onsite employees responsible for day-to-day building operations,
• offsite contractors (retro-commissioning agents or control vendors) hired to improve a building's energy efficiency, and
• people interested in entering this field, including college students and military veterans.

Download Training Materials

Primer: Because the re-tuning training for buildings without BASs is intended for a diverse audience, some participants may need additional background information to understand concepts presented in the training. The primer provides background information specifically geared toward small- to medium-sized commercial building operations. It introduces basic building energy terminology associated with building energy use to "prime" targeted participants to get the most out of the building re-tuning training. The intent is for participants who are less familiar with the concepts to review this material before taking the building re-tuning training class.

Chapter 1: Understand the purpose of re-tuning, definition of small building re-tuning and what to expect from the re-tuning training class.

Chapter 2: Understand and collect building information necessary for re-tuning (building walk down).

Chapter 3: Identify and implement re-tuning measures.

Instructors' manual: provides additional information on what to highlight in each of the small building re-tuning slides. The manual is intended for instructors providing small building re-tuning training or teaching small building re-tuning to community college students focusing on building operations. The manual is intended for lecture and discussion, and also provides information on how to conduct hands-on in-the-field training. Each page in the main portion of the guide is a representation of a training slide. Below each slide are talking points and notes to the instructors.