Drift, Degradation & Control Failure

A building leaves commissioning at its peak, and from that moment its performance begins to slip. Sensors drift, operators nudge setpoints, heat exchangers foul, maintenance slides, and the building's use changes underneath control logic that was tuned for a different reality. This gradual erosion, commissioning drift, is why a building that performed well at handover can be wasting 10 to 15% within a couple of years. Understanding how it happens, and how to spot it, is what makes the re-commissioning in the next lesson worth doing. This lesson covers the causes, the symptoms, and the economics of prevention.