Hunterdon County Administrative Building
Commissioning Services

Project Profile:

Project:		Hunterdon County Administrative Building
Owner:		Hunterdon County
Project Type:		Administrative Building
Project Location:		Flemington, New Jersey
Square Footage:		23,000 sf
Completion Date:		August 2003
Architect:		Clark Canton Hinz
Engineer:		MP Hershman

Project Description:
Originally constructed during the early 1960s, the Hunterdon County Administration Building underwent a major renovation and comprehensive modernization.  By replacing equipment that had exceeded its useful life span, the County hoped to decrease operation and running costs and increase their energy efficiency.  They were also concerned with IAQ issues and the thermal and humidity comfort of the building occupants.

The County of Hunterdon had worked with Dome-Tech previously on multiple retro-commissioning jobs.  As Dome-Tech has successfully optimized HVAC and mechanical systems in existing buildings, Hunterdon County retained Dome-Tech to commission their new renovation project.

The main benefit Dome-Tech provided was the clarification of project specifications and requirements.  After review of submittals and specifications, Dome-Tech worked with the contractors to clarify scope and methods rather than increasing labor hours.  Various installation issues that could have led to major operational issues and impacted project completion were "caught in time" thus avoiding late and costly remedial work.  As a result, the HVAC installation was completed on time and within budget.

Through Dome-Tech's coordination, 50% of the commissioning project was funded through the NJ SmartStart program and equipment incentives totaling $5,000 were obtained.  Further economic review shows that the commissioning process saved the owner money in the form of reduced change orders and energy cost reduction.  The estimated total savings is $12,000 which results in a simple payback of the commissioning fee in 1.2 years.  If the utility incentives are taken into account and applied to the overall cost, the total cost savings grows to approximately $17,000 and the simple payback reduced to under 0.9 years.