With an increased focus on energy efficiency, nations across the world have set an ambitious target to reduce 30% of its energy use by 2030, which could result in a minimum of 1.7 terawatt-hours of energy savings and a reduction of one million tonnes in carbon emissions.
These targets are extremely essential in combating the ill effects of climate change, especially given that the existing global building stock is a leading contributor to greenhouse gases (GHG), generating approximately 40% of annual global GHG emissions.
Now, take into consideration that approximately two-thirds of the buildings that exist today will still exist in 2050.
There’s no doubt about the fact that even if every single building constructed from today is energy efficient – which is a stretch in itself – action still needs to be taken on the present-day buildings that are “fuelling the fire of global warming”.
On average, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) contribute approximately 33% of a building’s total energy consumption, with major appliances such as water heating and freezers accounting for 18%, and lighting taking up an additional 10% of the power usage.
At the peak of their glory, the skyscrapers and towering buildings defining our skyline would have been well within their energy efficiency parameters, but given that many of them are now marking their 35th to 40th birthday celebrations, and are on the cusp of second childhood, the time has come to revisit their vitals – the electricity, mechanicals, and plumbing – which are keeping them alive and functioning.
Fit-out vs Retrofit vs Refurbishment
Speaking in an exclusive interview, the Head of FM and Retrofit Projects at Universal Voltas LLC, Ashok Jha, says: “Since the MEP industry and HVAC industry are pivoting towards sustainability and energy conservation – as they should – the need to take measures to retrofit buildings has become imperative.
“While on one hand, the time is right for retrofitting projects to go out to tender, on the other hand, it’s also time for companies pitching for these tenders to increase their scope of work, improve their workforce, and address concerns – even ones as fundamental as getting their terminologies correct.”
Jha adds: “It is unfortunate that, even in this day and age, there are companies who use broad terms such as fit-out, retrofitting, and refurbishment interchangeably.”
Retrofitting in its simplest form refers to adding new features or technology to an existing building or property – or replacing outdated features and technology with optimised, modern products and solutions – in order to elevate building performance; enhance environmental conditions in the premises; improve the comfort touch-points for the users and occupiers of the building; ensure the highest standards of safety systems; and to minimise energy consumption.
“It’s important to differentiate a fit-out project from a retrofitting project. To simplify discussions, fit-out projects are carried out on buildings in the late stages of construction, while retrofit projects are carried out on buildings that have finished construction and need to be re-visited,” Jha explains.
“Fit-out refers to the process of making the building interior space suitable for occupation after the MEP and HVAC has been installed on an under-construction building. This is very different from retrofitting.
He adds: “While fit-out might include the addition of fixtures, fuses, ducting, false ceiling, flooring, tiling, and painting on a nearly completed construction, it is still starkly different from a retrofit project.”
Another common misconception in the industry is that refurbishment and retrofitting are practically the same and require similar skill-sets and expertise
The head of FM and Retrofit Projects at Universal Voltas LLC, Ashok Jha.
“Refurbishment refers to the improvement of a building by cleaning, decorating, and re-equipping a building. It’s a very fine line, but one that needs to be understood. For instance, if the complete HVAC unit in a building needs to be replaced because it has exhausted its use through its lifetime – that falls within the category of refurbishment.”
In the lifecycle of a building, fit-out falls into the birthing cycle of a building, and refurbishment comes into the late-stages of “transplanting the internal organs” of a building. However, retrofitting lies in the middle where the building systems need to be “educated, upskilled, and remain employable” in order to keep up with the safety, performance, comfort, technology, and carbon footprint reduction requirements and standards.
“I have been in the industry for more than 20 years,” Jha states. “This distinction between fit-out, retrofitting, and refurbishment has still not seeped into the industry, and before we delve into the pain points of retrofitting it is of paramount importance to understand what these terms mean.”
“Those who are unaware of the finer nuances and don’t have visibility on the technical specifications of the projects may not see the need to create this distinction. For instance, there is a slight overlap between refurbishment and retrofitting. Refurbishments could also involve the addition of technologies, improved safety systems, more energy-efficient solutions and the like. The ideal way to understand it is to say – refurbishments may contain retrofitting elements, but not all retrofitting is refurbishment.
This distinction helps to manage expectations and can be decisive in taking key decisions on tendered projects, expressions of interests, qualification for a project, as well as drawing up contracts for an upcoming project.
Zooming into retrofitting
Retrofitting projects can be broadly classified into three categories. Incremental retrofitting refers to retrofit projects that are carried out in phases rather than at a single stretch.
Secondly, home energy retrofits refer to improving existing residential building equipment with more energy-efficient alternatives. In this form of retrofit, choosing star-rated equipment could cause as much as a 15% to 20% reduction in energy consumption.
The third, called the seismic retrofit, refers to strengthening works on a building structure, which may have become prone to impairment due to circumstances such as an earthquake. In these instances, jacketing or collaring building columns and structures through a retrofit project could increase the lifetime and safety of the building. Industrial retrofits can improve the efficiency, boost the output, and reduce the emissions of industrial plants.
Voltas was recently involved in a retrofitting project, which comprised of replacing 1,000 split units of a capacity of approximately 2.5 tonnes. The replaced units contained R22 refrigerants, which were not ozone-friendly, thus, compelling the need for a change to more ozone-friendly R407C refrigerant options. The retrofit project also included a shift from mineral oil to polyester oil.
“We are quite dependent on HVAC and MEP systems such as air conditioning for survival and comfort, raising the energy consumption of the building stock to almost 70%, compared to the global average of 40%. Due to this increased energy usage, there’s a need to delve deeper through ‘Deep Energy Retrofits’ that proportionally improve our systems, and ensure comfort and safety, while lowering the carbon footprint of the region,” Jha remarks.
Commissioning & Retrocommissioning
In a typical ongoing building construction project, the MEP and HVAC is designed, assessed, engineered, supplied, tested, installed, and commissioned, before the building is functional and ready for occupation, following which the products need to be maintained and upgraded.
At the commissioning stage, ideally, all the installed equipment is run in order to ensure that it operates within the set design parameters.
Commissioning ensures that equipment has been sized appropriately for the project; that the equipment has been installed correctly; and that it has been calibrated for optimal performance and energy savings.
Jha says: “A few years into the building lifecycle, it’s only natural to witness changes in the equipment due to wear and tear, effects of vibrations, broken down or defunct parts, which causes repairs to be conducted and spare parts to be installed. As these changes are introduced, the equipment begin to slowly move away from the design parameters that it initially adhered to, causing the obligation of a recommissioning of the equipment on the project.
“Recommissioning helps ascertain how and why the equipment has deviated from its design parameters, providing detail through a root-cause analysis.
“Following this analysis, course correction methods are implemented to bring the equipment back to its design specifications.”
However, commissioning and recommissioning do not always take into consideration advancement in energy-efficient technologies and advancements in product design and equipment. This is why retro-commissioning is also important.
A nascent field within the construction industry, there are very few companies that are involved in retro-commissioning a project, which refers to revisiting and “commissioning a retrofit project” with energy efficiency as the prime focus of the improved design specifications.
Jha explains: “For instance, a project may have three pumps that are running based on the initial design parameters that are already tested, installed, and commissioned.
“But, if we want to conserve energy, we may need to consider trimming the impellers of the pumps; optimising the size of the pump in terms of the head and discharge capacity; and then, retro-commissiong the pumps to meet the design requirements, as well.”
“Currently, in the industry, commissioning is commonplace, while re-commissioning is exceptional, based on the absolute need for such an exercise. However, retro-commissioning – which is driven by value rather than regulations – is almost unheard of, and yet, is of paramount importance to conserve energy and increase the performance and the useful lifespan of an asset or a building.” The time is now! If the narrative of sustainability and energy efficiency in the MEP and HVAC industry are to be taken seriously, this shift towards retro-commissioning projects cannot be delayed any longer.
Jha adds: “Especially, with the growing focus on ESCO projects, the time is right for the industry to actively adopt retro-commissioning measures and mechanisms.
“Apart from the fundamental drive for awareness, the time has come for retro-commissioning projects to be tendered and implemented.”
Experience and expertise
There’s no doubt that there are a score of buildings – and correspondingly, a high capacity of untapped projects – that need retrofit solutions. Yet, for an industry that is still developing “an awareness of terminologies” there are a bunch of hurdles that yet to be scaled.
The tallest of these hurdles is the sheer dearth of firms that have the capabilities to fulfil the objectives of a retrofit project.
Advising caution before taking up a retrofit job, Jha explains: “The very nature of a retrofit project is that there is plenty of room for scope-creep on the project. This means that contractors considering such projects need to factor in known risks as well as unknown risks on the project.”
“It’s extremely essential that firms taking up retrofit projects are realistic about their resources, their capabilities, their strengths, and the expertise of their staff. Moreover, it’s equally essential for those tendering the retrofit projects to understand the capabilities needed to fulfil the specifications of the project and vet the contractors properly to ascertain whether they qualify for the project.”
Prior to taking on a retrofit project, firms will need to scope the physical condition of the building, the MEP utilities, and the life of the assets. The firms will also need to be aware of the routing of the electricals, plumbing lines, ducts, and more.
Additionally, firms will need to be capable of managing retrofits in a live environment, especially in hospitality-based retrofit projects, where the project needs to be carried out in a section of the structure without interfering with the live operations in another wing or section.
Such projects need special considerations for noise containment, construction waste reduction, educating the staff and the occupants of ongoing retrofit work, increased safety considerations for civilians sharing the space with construction workers, fast-tracked deadlines to lower the impact on the client’s business, as well as careful management of the aesthetics of the project in order to prevent any damage to the client’s ongoing business.
“A lot of stakeholders in the industry view these live projects as ‘Greenfield projects’, where work can be conducted 24/7 without any restrictions. It’s not right to expect live jobs to be completed within similar deadlines as a Greenfield projects. Every retrofit project – especially live projects – require experience and specific expertise,” Jha says.
“If contractors take up jobs that are beyond their capabilities due to current market conditions of low margins and high competition, or if clients fail to qualify bids correctly, it could result in a number of complications, which include – but are not limited to – cost overruns, delayed deadlines, variations in contracts, construction disputes, among others.”
This means that there is a clear and present need for stronger entry barriers that qualify a contractor for retrofit projects. Contracts must not be awarded purely on a lowest-bidder-wins (L1) tender system. The competency of a firm and its past experience – specifically in terms of retrofit projects – must be taken into consideration, rather than the firm’s general experience in construction.
One of the most important aspects essential to a retrofit project that is often overlooked is the design and design-build capabilities of a contractor as well as the experience of the firm’s engineers.
Jha explains: “Companies and contractors who build their in-house design expertise will be able to handle heat-load calculations, equipment sizing, pipe measurements, duct designing, and such before going ahead with procurement and installation.
“Whether the project is tendered as a pre-design project or a design-build project, it is absolutely essential for every firm to have its own design capabilities before pitching for a retrofit project.”
Most importantly, companies pitching for retrofit projects need to have a skilled workforce – who are able to not only meet the project brief but also raise industry standards and set best practices – especially in terms of energy efficiency on retrofit projects.
“At the end of the day, no matter how many retrofit projects are out there, and no matter how good the design capabilities of the company are, the project needs skilled and proficient engineers, supervisors, foremen, operators, and management staff to execute the project.
Jha concludes: “The retrofitting industry is ripe for the picking. There’s high capacity and low capabilities — there’s a lot of work out there, but the industry requires more firms with the credentials and the expertise to fulfil the projects, and take them through to a timely, cost-efficient completion.”