Electrical 路 Free
Data Centre and MEP Testing and Commissioning (L1 to L5)
How a data centre and its critical MEP systems are proved before go-live: the commissioning process, OPR and basis of design, commissioning levels L1 to L5, FAT and SAT, electrical pre-functional tests, protection injection, UPS, battery, generator and ATS testing, load banks and heat load tests, chilled water flushing and hydro tests, liquid cooling, BMS and EPMS point-to-point checks, integrated systems testing, the issues log and handover.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Commissioning explained: process, OPR, basis of design and roles
Laminar Projects
FAT, SAT and installation checks (L1 and L2)
Simple Engineer | Civil Engineering Simplified
Switchgear protection: secondary and primary injection
Electrology
Generators, ATS and load bank testing
Custodian Data Centres
Chilled water systems: flushing, hydro test, water treatment and TAB
MEP Engineering Tutorials
BMS and EPMS: point-to-point checks, sequences and alarms
Smart Buildings Academy
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Explain the commissioning process and who does what; turn an OPR into measurable acceptance criteria; plan commissioning levels L1 to L5 and write test scripts with prerequisites, expected results and sign-offs; witness a FAT and run a SAT; read insulation resistance, polarisation index, contact resistance and thermography results; check protection by secondary and primary injection; test UPS modes, batteries, generators and ATS with load banks; run a heat load test and close its energy balance; supervise chilled water and liquid cooling flushing, hydro tests and TAB; run BMS and EPMS point-to-point checks; plan and witness an integrated systems test; and manage the issues log, punch list, training and handover.
- Turn an OPR into measurable acceptance criteria and plan commissioning levels L0 to L5
- Write test scripts with prerequisites, expected results, abort criteria and sign-offs
- Witness a FAT, run L2 installation checks and a site acceptance test
- Read insulation resistance, PI, contact resistance and thermography results, and check protection by injection
- Test UPS transfers and batteries, generators, ATS and paralleling with load banks
- Run a heat load test, close the energy balance, and supervise flushing, hydro tests and TAB
- Commission CDUs and liquid cooling loops, and run BMS and EPMS point-to-point checks
- Plan a black building integrated systems test and close issues and punch lists on evidence
For you
Taking Data Centre and MEP Testing and Commissioning (L1 to L5) from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$28.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 12 hours
Commissioning a 1.2 MW data hall: Cx plan, L4 UPS test script, load bank and heat load plan, black building IST and issues log
Plan and document the commissioning of one new data hall as a commissioning authority would: the level structure and entry criteria, a complete L4 test script for a UPS with its battery discharge, a generator load bank and heat load test plan with the energy balance, a black building IST scenario with abort criteria, and an issues log that closes on evidence. The sample pack shows each document for a hall near Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Sample document pack, 5 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Commissioning procedureCommissioning plan extract: hall DH-2 levels, roles and entry criteria
- ProcedureL4 functional test script: UPS-A with battery discharge at 1,200 kW
- PlanGenerator load bank and DH-2 heat load test plan
- ProcedureL5 IST scenario BB-01: black building test of DH-2 at design heat load
- RegisterIssues log extract and punch list forecast: hall DH-2
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
14 modules 路 35 lessons 路 12h 4m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Commissioning explained: process, OPR, basis of design and roles4 lessons40m
- 02Commissioning levels L0 to L5, the Cx plan and test scripts4 lessons1h 18m
- 03FAT, SAT and installation checks (L1 and L2)3 lessons22m
- 04Electrical pre-functional tests: insulation, contact resistance, torque and thermography1 lesson60m
- 05Switchgear protection: secondary and primary injection2 lessons38m
- 06UPS and battery testing2 lessons49m
- 07Generators, ATS and load bank testing4 lessons37m
- 08Heat load testing and load banks in the data hall1 lesson37m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Intermediate. For electrical and mechanical engineers, technicians and site supervisors moving into commissioning, and for operations staff who will accept a new data centre. You need basic electrical power (kW, kVA, three-phase current) and basic HVAC (chilled water, airflow); no commissioning experience is needed. Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power and Data Centre Cooling, BMS and DCIM explain how the systems are designed; this course is how they are tested and handed over.
- Software
- A spreadsheet (LibreOffice Calc is free) for test scripts, the issues log and the calculations, and a PDF reader for the free GSA Commissioning Guide. No commissioning software is required: commercial commissioning platforms hold the same scripts, checklists and issues as the spreadsheet templates used here. What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None. Test instruments, load banks and analysers are shown in the lessons; you do not need your own.
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
A spreadsheet is enough for the test scripts, the issues log and every calculation, and the GSA Commissioning Guide (gsa.gov/commissioning) is a free PDF. Test instruments and load banks are shown in the lessons.
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
LibreOffice
The Document Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or newer (Intel or Apple silicon), Linux
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- up to 1.5 GB of disk space on Windows
LibreOffice is free, open-source software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, for any use including business. Calc is its spreadsheet.
Steps
- 1.Open the LibreOffice download page.
- 2.Check the page has picked your operating system, then select Download.
- 3.Run the installer (administrator rights are needed on Windows).
- 4.Start LibreOffice Calc for spreadsheet work.
- 5.Save as .xlsx if you need to share files with Excel users.
- Choose the latest main version unless your organisation asks for the older, more conservative release.
Official download pagelibreoffice.org
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Data Centre and MEP Testing and Commissioning (L1 to L5) at a glance
Data Centre and MEP Testing and Commissioning (L1 to L5) is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for electrical and mechanical engineers, technicians and site supervisors moving into data centre and critical MEP commissioning, and operators accepting new facilities. It has 14 modules and 12h 4m of video lessons by Laminar Projects, Siemens Knowledge Hub, Broma Engineering and others, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- Electrical and mechanical engineers, technicians and site supervisors moving into data centre and critical MEP commissioning, and operators accepting new facilities
- Format
- 14 self-paced modules, 12h 4m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Intermediate. Intermediate. For electrical and mechanical engineers, technicians and site supervisors moving into commissioning, and for operations staff who will accept a new data centre. You need basic electrical power (kW, kVA, three-phase current) and basic HVAC (chilled water, airflow); no commissioning experience is needed. Data Centre Electrical and Critical Power and Data Centre Cooling, BMS and DCIM explain how the systems are designed; this course is how they are tested and handed over.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- A spreadsheet (LibreOffice Calc is free) for test scripts, the issues log and the calculations, and a PDF reader for the free GSA Commissioning Guide. No commissioning software is required: commercial commissioning platforms hold the same scripts, checklists and issues as the spreadsheet templates used here.
- Hardware
- None. Test instruments, load banks and analysers are shown in the lessons; you do not need your own.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Laminar Projects, Siemens Knowledge Hub, Broma Engineering, Smart Buildings Academy, Five Nines, Keentel Engineering, Gareth Knight, AABC, ACG, EMA: Leaders in Building Performance, Simple Engineer | Civil Engineering Simplified, Roger Altman, Power ai, Electrology, Testing Tech Tips, Sarah Rocap, Jim Pytel, Custodian Data Centres, Woodstock Power Company, Parker Systems, Data Center Revolution Media, MEP Engineering Tutorials, Open Compute Project, Infrastructure Masons, NGD, Efficienergi Consulting, Jason Schroeder, Everything Architecture, SP Home Run Inc. (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
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FreePLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
FreePLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal in Three HoursThe first three hours of the Siemens TIA Portal course, cut to end on a win: what a PLC is, how it is wired, a project configured in TIA Portal, and your first ladder program running in simulation. Finish it in an evening or two, earn a certificate, and carry straight on into the full course.
FreePLC programming 路 FreeTIA Portal: Build a MachineOne machine, start to finish. Take a bottle filling line from a written specification and an I/O list to a structured S7-1200 program with a fill station, a capper, a reject sorter and an operator screen with alarms, then test it against a written record and archive it for hand-over. The lessons are the reference; the machine is yours, and it is what you submit.More free courses: Free electrical design and control panel courses
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Data Centre and MEP Testing and Commissioning (L1 to L5), and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
What is data centre commissioning?
Data centre commissioning is the documented process of proving, level by level, that a data centre's power, cooling, controls and monitoring meet the owner's requirements before any IT load goes live. It starts with the Owner's Project Requirements, runs through factory, installation, start-up and functional tests, and ends with an integrated systems test, training and handover.
What are the L1 to L5 commissioning levels?
L1 is the factory acceptance test, L2 is delivery and installation verification, L3 is start-up and pre-functional testing, L4 is the functional performance test of each system, and L5 is the integrated systems test of all systems together under failure scenarios. Many projects add L0 for design review; each level starts only when the one below is signed.
Who is this commissioning course for?
It is for electrical and mechanical engineers, technicians and site supervisors who want to work as commissioning engineers on data centres and other critical MEP projects, and for operations staff who will accept a new facility. You need basic electrical power and HVAC knowledge, not commissioning experience.
Do I need software or test equipment?
No. A spreadsheet such as LibreOffice Calc is enough for the test scripts, the issues log and every calculation, and the free GSA Commissioning Guide is the reference document. Instruments, load banks and analysers are shown in the lessons.
Is the course free to learn, and how long does it take?
Yes, every module, the notes, worked problems, practice tasks, the optional project and the final assessment are free to learn. The course takes about 18 hours at your own pace, of which about 12 hours is video; the optional project takes about 12 hours more.
Which standards and guides does the course follow?
It follows the commissioning process of ASHRAE Guideline 0 and Standard 202 and the free GSA Commissioning Guide, with test practice from IEC 60364-6, IEC 62040-3 for UPS, ISO 8528 for generators, IEEE 450 for batteries, NETA acceptance testing and BSRIA BG 29 for flushing. Standards are paraphrased, never copied, and the project specification always governs.
What certificate do I get, and how is it verified?
You get a verifiable certificate of completion when you finish the modules and pass the 15-question final at 60 percent. It carries a unique certificate number and a QR code that open a public verification page showing the course, the modules covered and your final score. It is not a CxA, CCP or other commissioning credential, and the course is not affiliated with ASHRAE, NETA, ACG or BCxA.
What jobs does this lead to, including in the Gulf?
It prepares you for roles such as commissioning engineer, commissioning technician, electrical or mechanical test engineer and commissioning manager's assistant on data centre and critical facility projects. Data centre builds in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar advertise these roles with L1 to L5 commissioning named in the job description, as do hyperscale projects in Europe and North America.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Data Centre and MEP Testing and Commissioning (L1 to L5)
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$28.99, with a receipt.
Issued by EDWartens, the training division of Wartens, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales). It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- Laminar Projectsthe short introduction to commissioning in data centres that opens the course
- Siemens Knowledge Hubhow to ensure a successful data center commissioning
- Broma Engineeringthe step-by-step walk through the data centre commissioning process
- Smart Buildings Academyworking with a commissioning authority, and the practical point-to-point checkout session
- Five Ninesthe five levels of data center commissioning, used again as the final recap
- Keentel Engineeringthe L1 to L5 testing guide
- Gareth Knightthe step-by-step commissioning process of a data centre
- AABC, ACG, EMA: Leaders in Building Performancethe commissioning authority sessions on the data centre commissioning process, electrical systems in mission critical facilities, TAB of a hyperscale data centre, controls verification with test and balance, and operational readiness
- Simple Engineer | Civil Engineering Simplifiedwhat a factory acceptance test is, simply explained
- Roger Altmanwhat a switchgear factory acceptance test contains
- Power aithe commissioning procedure for a 400 V switchboard, used as the SAT model
- Electrologywhy primary current injection testing is essential
- Testing Tech Tipstesting breaker trip units against their published curves
- Sarah Rocapperforming a UPS transfer in a critical data center
- Jim Pytelbattery discharge characteristics behind every UPS runtime test
- Custodian Data Centresgenerator testing in an operating data centre
- Woodstock Power Companygenerator load bank testing: the basics and the steps
- Parker Systemsload bank basics and the equipment used
- Data Center Revolution Mediaload banks, liquid cooling and heat load testing for AI data centres
- MEP Engineering Tutorialsthe method statement for hydrostatic pressure testing of chilled water pipework
- Open Compute Projectpreparing technology cooling system row manifolds for commissioning, and the panel on cleaning and commissioning the TCS
- Infrastructure Masonsdesigning, building and commissioning liquid-cooled data centres
- NGDa real black building test at a data centre
- Efficienergi Consultingthe long testing and commissioning training for L1 to L5 data centre infrastructure
- Jason Schroederwhat a punch list is in construction
- Everything Architectureconstruction closeout
- SP Home Run Inc.common data center commissioning mistakes
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.