Source: [https://nwhvac.com/services/retro-commissioning](https://nwhvac.com/services/retro-commissioning) Static public-page extract. Forms, interactive calculator, scripts and explicitly hidden content are omitted. This extract cannot evaluate class-based CSS visibility. Use the source page for interactive features. [Services](https://nwhvac.com/services) › Retro-Commissioning # Commercial HVAC Retro-Commissioning & Performance Optimization in Chicago Retro-Commissioning (RCx) · Chicagoland ## Make Your Building's Systems Work Together Again Retro-commissioning, often shortened to RCx, is a systematic process of testing and optimizing an existing building's HVAC equipment and controls so they work together and meet the building's current needs. It looks beyond whether individual units run to check schedules, sensors, dampers, valves, airflow and operating sequences. Buildings change. Tenants move, hours shift, spaces are repurposed, and a few years of service calls leave behind overrides and temporary settings nobody remembers. The equipment may be well maintained and still waste energy, cause comfort complaints, or wear out early because the system as a whole no longer runs the way it should. Northern Weathermakers brings service technicians and controls specialists together to find those problems, correct them, and check with trend data that the fixes held. - Existing Commercial Buildings - Schedules & Sequences - Sensor Calibration - Dampers, Valves & Airflow - Written Findings - Manufacturer Independent Maintenance keeps equipment working. Retro-commissioning makes the whole system work right. In Contractor Terms ## Retro-Commissioning vs. Maintenance ### Maintenance Keeps each piece of equipment in working condition: filters, belts, coils, refrigerant, burners, motors and safeties. It answers the question, “Is this unit running and in good shape?” ### Retro-Commissioning Checks whether the whole system operates correctly and efficiently as one building: when it runs, what it reads, what it commands and how each system affects the others. It answers the question, “Is the building getting what it needs, without waste?” What We Check ## Beyond Whether the Equipment Runs 🕒 ### Schedules & Occupancy Equipment should run when the building is used and rest when it is not. Read service details We compare start and stop times, holiday schedules, override status and optimal start settings against how the building is actually occupied today. Schedules that were extended for one tenant, one event or one cold snap and never set back are among the most common sources of wasted runtime. 🌡️ ### Sensors & Calibration A controller can only be as right as the sensors it reads. Read service details We check space, supply, mixed and outdoor air temperature sensors, humidity and pressure sensors and flow readings against calibrated instruments. One drifted outdoor air sensor can push an entire building into the wrong heating or cooling mode. 🌀 ### Dampers, Valves & Actuators We confirm that what the system commands is what actually moves. Read service details Outdoor air, return and exhaust dampers, economizer linkages, VAV boxes and heating and cooling valves are commanded through their range and observed. Stuck, disconnected or leaking devices let heating and cooling fight each other and quietly raise utility bills. 💨 ### Airflow & Ventilation Ventilation should match the space as it is used now. Read service details We review supply and outdoor airflow, static pressure and fan speeds against current occupancy and space use. Over-ventilating wastes heating and cooling energy; under-ventilating hurts indoor air quality and comfort. ⚙️ ### Operating Sequences The control logic should still make sense for the building. Read service details We trace the sequences that stage chillers, boilers, rooftop units and air handlers, reset supply air and water temperatures, and run economizers, and we look for equipment short-cycling or running against another system. Sequences are tuned to how the building operates today, not how it operated when it was first set up. 📋 ### Findings & Verification You get a written record of what we found, what we fixed and what deserves budget attention. Read service details Low-cost and no-cost corrections are made and then checked against trend data, so you can see whether each change held. Items that need repair, replacement or a larger project are written up separately so they can be planned instead of discovered during a failure. How It Works ## Our Retro-Commissioning Process 1 ### Review We start with your equipment list, controls front end, utility history, comfort complaints and current hours of operation. 2 ### Test Our technicians and controls team test schedules, sensors, dampers, valves, airflow and sequences on site and trend the system while it runs. 3 ### Correct Operating problems are corrected and set to match the building's current needs, with your approval before changes are made. 4 ### Verify & Document We review trend data to see that each fix held, and you receive written findings, the changes made and recommended next steps. Good Candidates ## Signs Your Building Is Ready for RCx - Energy use rising without a clear reason - Hot and cold complaints in the same building - Equipment running nights and weekends - Controls overrides nobody can explain - Occupancy or space use has changed - A weak Chicago energy benchmarking score Retro-commissioning pairs naturally with our [building automation and controls](https://nwhvac.com/services/automation-controls) work and our [commercial HVAC service and maintenance](https://nwhvac.com/services/service-maintenance) . A [Service Agreement](https://nwhvac.com/maintenance-agreements) helps a building keep the gains, because the same team that tuned the system keeps servicing it. Questions ## Retro-Commissioning FAQ What is retro-commissioning? Retro-commissioning (RCx) is a systematic process of testing and tuning an existing building's HVAC equipment and controls so they work together and meet the building's current needs. It looks beyond whether each unit runs and checks schedules, sensors, dampers, valves, airflow and operating sequences. How is retro-commissioning different from maintenance? Maintenance keeps each piece of equipment in working condition. Retro-commissioning checks whether the whole system operates correctly and efficiently as one building, so equipment that is well maintained but running on the wrong schedule or fighting another system still gets caught. Which buildings benefit most? Office, medical, multi-tenant, manufacturing and institutional buildings with a building automation system, central plant or many rooftop units, especially where the space use, occupancy or hours have changed since the systems were set up, or where comfort complaints and energy use keep rising. Does retro-commissioning mean replacing equipment? Usually not. Most findings are operating problems: overrides left in place, schedules that drifted, sensors that read wrong, economizers that stopped working, heating and cooling running at the same time. Where equipment does need repair or replacement, we write it up so you can plan and budget for it. Can retro-commissioning help with Chicago energy benchmarking? Chicago's Energy Benchmarking Ordinance requires larger buildings to report energy use every year. Retro-commissioning does not file that report for you, but it is one of the most direct ways to find and fix the operating waste behind a weak score. Do we need a building automation system? No. A building automation system makes testing and trending easier, but buildings with standalone controls and rooftop units also benefit. We set the testing approach to the controls your building has. Is retro-commissioning the same as recommissioning? They are close relatives. Strictly, retro-commissioning applies to systems that were never formally commissioned, and recommissioning revisits systems that were. Both are sometimes called existing-building commissioning, and the work on site is much the same. Are there utility incentives for retro-commissioning? Illinois utilities have offered retro-commissioning programs for commercial buildings. Eligibility and funding change from year to year, so ask us and we will help you check what applies to your building before the work starts. Let's Talk ## Ask About Retro-Commissioning Your Building Tell us about your building, its systems and what is not working the way it should. We will tell you whether retro-commissioning is the right next step. [Contact Us](https://nwhvac.com/contact) [Call 847.498.4590](tel:8474984590)