The drive to design more energy efficient buildings is increasingly leading to complex buildings with finely balanced ventilation and heating/cooling strategies. Commissioning of the often complex control systems is difficult and time consuming, as it relies on the sensing technology c f the Building Management System, which is designed to control the building during normal operation, but lacks the resolution for thorough analysis of internal conditions to resolve initial building operation problems. This can result in a drawn out commissioning process, which is costly for the construction team. Moreover, insufficient commissioning and maintenance of building controls can lead to poorly functioning buildings, with great cost-implications for landlords, occupants and employers. This paper introduces sensor overlay method that can support building control commissioning and maintenance by providing high-resolution data and speeding up the commissioning process. The development of the method and its practical application during a long-term study period, which coincided with the commissioning of an advanced naturally ventilated building, are described. The benefits for the design and commissioning teams and the implications for other stakeholders are explored. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.