Digital retrofitting: the first step towards net zero

In an era characterised by depleting resources, escalating energy costs, unprecedented carbon emissions and fears over global warming, the spotlight has turned to buildings as the giants of energy consumption by 2030. Sustainable building operations are no longer an option; they are a necessity. The big challenge is ageing buildings, which feature legacy technologies and constitute a significant portion of the current building inventory. These structures guzzle energy, operate inefficiently and have not made the technological strides that render newer constructions more eco-friendly and efficient.

Relying solely on traditional perspectives within the facility management sector won’t propel us toward the desired long-term goals of zero-carbon emissions and sustainability. Today, real estate owners and facility management service providers worldwide grapple with an escalating dilemma. Should they persist with unsustainable and progressively costlier older buildings, or should they commit to costly physical retrofits in a bid to enhance efficiency and sustainability?

Traditional thinking

Most real estate owners and facility managers realise that equipment should be replaced periodically, but financial considerations often override such needs. Physical retrofits, encompassing upgrades to HVAC and lighting systems, impose substantial financial burdens on property owners who, whenever possible, seek to postpone the inevitable. Yet without investments in or deployments of state-of-the-art technologies that assure long-term sustainability, buildings risk becoming even more of a drain on resources.

The complications associated with physical retrofits are multifaceted. Beyond the dearth of data, limited usage visibility and restricted access for multiple stakeholders, physical retrofits confine the facility management landscape to pockets of independent systems. While these systems might excel individually, they often fail to communicate seamlessly with each other due to the unavailability of relevant data. To achieve sustainable operations, building owners, occupants, and tenants require elevated visibility and real-time insights into all efficiency metrics, which, unfortunately, traditional retrofits cannot provide.

The most viable solution

Yet, a viable solution exists – digital retrofitting. This transformative approach entails centralising automation systems that work synergistically with physical retrofits, employing a fusion of Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning systems to digitise ageing building systems. The essence of digital retrofitting lies in optimising building efficiency and introducing advanced automated platforms that deliver preemptive operational insights and alerts.

Embracing digital retrofitting offers five pivotal advantages for real estate owners and facility management firms:

1. Cost efficiency: Comparable efficiency gains to physical retrofits, but at a significantly reduced cost.
2. Swift implementation: Less time and effort are required for installation compared to traditional retrofits.
3. Rapid ROI: Returns on investment materialise faster than with physical retrofits.
4. Customisation: Modular platforms empower the customisation and augmentation of building operations, giving users complete control and deeper insights.
5. Unified insights: The integration of disparate systems onto a singular platform facilitates data consolidation, analytics and profound operational insights.

 

The way forward

As we navigate the path toward net-zero carbon energy consumption and sustainable operations, digital retrofitting offers a clear trajectory to an industry grappling with which direction to go in. This approach breathes life into legacy systems, transforming them into smoothly functioning, efficient operational platforms. The right technology will help us all make the most important shift in FM. It’s not about monitoring what is right; it’s about knowing what is going wrong, as early as possible. This is where advanced analytics and digital operations platforms can help turn available data into useful information that you can act on.

The future of sustainable building operations rests with digital retrofitting and advanced data-driven facility management platforms. To construct a world where buildings leave minimal carbon footprint, we must embrace such FM platforms that harness technology’s potential to automate, enhance and steer sustainable operations.