Building Tune Up
The Building Tune-up Program provides incentives for building owners that want to go after low/no-cost energy efficiency opportunities but not the full commissioning process. Throughout the process you will work with PSE and a pre-approved commissioning provider or tune-up specialist to analyze your building’s energy consumption and leverage the building operator’s expertise to implement operational and maintenance measures. This process will provide the building staff with an improvements checklist, trend data, performance testing, and a final report so that changes can be sustained long after the work has been completed.
How do you know this program is for you?
- Building has 50,000 square feet or more of conditioned space
- Building is at least 75% occupied
- Energy use is higher than expected and/or trending upwards
- Maintenance has been deferred to some extent
- Dedicated building staff desires efficiency training
Building Tune-up implementation incentives
Base Cx Incentive:
After the commissioning provider has completed all fine-tuning, and provided all required documentation, you will receive the base incentive. This incentive is provided for the successful completion of the tune-up process and is not tied to how well the building has performed.
Performance Incentive:
If the building maintains efficient operation for 10-12 months after completing all required operational and maintenance improvements, and site savings can be identified through analysis, you will receive a calculated performance incentive using the rates below.
| Incentive |
PSE E & G Service | PSE E Service Only (Other gas) |
PSE G Service Only (Other electric) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base (per $100,000 sq. ft)* | $5,000 | $4,000 | $2,000 |
| Performance (Electric) | $0.05/kWh | $0.05/kWh | |
| Performance (Gas) Maximum Incentive |
$0.80/therm | $0.80/therm | |
| Maximum Incentive | Up to 100 percent of combined total of: tune-up provider's fee, cost of operational improvement(s), and/or energy efficiency upgrade(s) | ||
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How to participate
There are two (2) phases of the Building Tune-up process: Tune-up and Performance. Each one is outlined below:
Tune-up Phase:
Preapproval —Customer/Contractor submits the PSE Commercial Retrofit Grant Application along with the pre-screening page of the Building Tune-up workbook. These will be reviewed internally before an in-person visit is scheduled.
Kickoff —Meet with PSE and your commissioning provider to discuss program commitments, benefits, and targets related to the implementation of this program.
Implement —The commissioning provider performs an initial review of your building’s systems to identify and report both potential capital and O&M opportunities for evaluation and implementation.
Payment —Once the final report has been submitted including all identified capital and O&M measures, the verification documents are review and payment is processed.
Performance Phase
Performance period —A minimum of 10 months is used to verified the energy efficient performance of you building.
Track energy use —The customer deploys tools and training necessary to track energy use to maximize performance during the performance period and beyond.
Persistence Checks—Testing procedures provided at the close of the initial phase are implemented to verify measures are still deployed for optimal building operation.
Payment—Once the performance period has concluded, PSE will complete an energy analysis and pay the incentive based on realized savings.
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How to qualify providers
All of PSE’s commissioning programs require a minimum level of experience in addition to a high-level understanding of building energy using systems. Successful providers also have strong interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to investigate, implement, and verify energy efficiency opportunities. In addition to these qualifications, there are different tiers of experience required as the complexity increases for each program. The different tiers are outlined below:
EBCX* POST-OCC MBCX TUNE-UP Tier 1 x x x x Tier 2 x x x Tier 3 x x Tier 4 x *Submissions and review required unless preapproved by PSE
PSE approves individuals rather than companies as providers at each tier. To qualify, individuals need to meet the minimum requirements listed below and therefore have the majority of the necessary skills and experiences. Eligible providers must lead the projects, but other company resources may be used to support the qualified individual.
Tier 4
Experience Requirements
One (1) or more certification(s) listed below:
Minimum of seven (7) years Cx experience including education
Or
The lead individual has been prequalified by NEEC as a Building Tune-Ups Service Provider or by PSE and have participated as a Cx provider in other programs.
To get approval for an individual you wish to implement the tune-up program, contact PSE at commissioning@pse.com.
We advise PSE customers to select the provider for their project based on qualifications, especially as they relate to your particular needs, building and systems. Please feel free to contact PSE for any questions about the program at 1-800-562-1482.
Approved Professional Certification CERTIFICATION CERTIFIED/LICENSED BY WEBSITE Professional Engineer (PE) Washington State Department of Licensing http://leg.wa.gov Building Operator Certification (BOC) Level II Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) www.theboc.info Certified Energy Manager Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) www.aeecenter.org Certified Commissioning Professional (CCP) Building Commissioning Certification Board (BCCB) www.bcxa.org Commissioning Authority (CxA) AABC Commissioning Group (ACG) www.commissioning.org Existing Building Commissioning Professional (EBCP) Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) www.aeecenter.org Questions? Email us at commissioning@pse.com
Have questions about PSE's green options, including energy efficiency tips and rebates, contractor referrals, electric cars and renewable energy options? We're here to help.
Call us at 1-800-562-1482, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or contact us below.
Request a PSE Recommended Energy Professional (REP) to complete your energy efficient improvement upgrade.