The concept of building and plant Continuous Commissioning~(TM) (CC) originated within the Energy Systems Laboratory around 1993 when our engineers started looking at low-cost, no-cost operating practices which could be implemented in buildings to reduce operating costs. These "O&M" operating practices mostly involved shutting down systems during nights and weekends or turning off unnecessary components, such as two boilers operating when one would satisfy the loads. ESL engineers then started taking a more in-depth look at the HVAC system operation, and the Continuous Commissioning process was begun around 1995. The energy-savings results from CC have been extremely good, typically ranging from 15-25% of the facility energy bill. As a result of these successes in over 100 buildings, the U. S. Department of Energy provided a grant to the Energy Systems Laboratory to produce a Continuous Commissioning Guidebook which can be used by building energy managers and facility operators to reduce energy consumption. This paper will introduce the Guidebook and provide a case study from the book, the Continuous Commissioning of a DOD hospital, the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, TX.
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