First hand experiences

Design

Design phase proved the saying that “design is not a straight line”. Many changes had to be done in the proposed energy-saving measures during the design phase. It is more difficult to design energy-saving measures for a retrofitted building than for a new building designed from scratch. (April 2008)

The Building Management Systems brings a potential of significant energy savings even in the retrofit of very old buildings. Monitoring of occupancy for heating control seems to be a quite effective energy saving measure, but it is difficult to implement in a cost-effective way. The same applies for the direct monitoring of indoor air quality. Ventilation controlled with regard to the contamination level in air is probably the most energy efficient approach to ventilation control, but as so far it is quite expensive. (March 2006)

Further experiennces

Examples of this experience are:

• Application of Building Management Systems brings a potential of significant energy savings even in the retrofit of a very old building.
It is necessary to keep in mind that some changes in design may be necessary when the project enters the application phase. The retrofits of very old buildings are especially tricky because many problems reveal themselves when the application phase begins.

• Monitoring of occupancy, while being an effective energy saving measure, is not easy to implement in a cost-effective way.
Sophisticated Building Management System is a powerful tool in building monitoring. It not only allows to acquire data on energy consumption or indoor environment but also to assess the influence of indoor and outdoor conditions, occupancy, etc. on energy consumption.

• Even a very old building in a really bad condition can be retrofitted in a way to exceed the requirements of the contemporary building codes. The cost of a retrofit being only a fraction of what a new building with similar parameters would cost.

• Operation of all building systems is supposed to be tested in the commissioning phase. This, however, is not a guarantee that all building system will operate properly. If, for example, commissioning take place in summer, operation of the heating system and its control cannot be tested under its normal operation conditions. It is good to keep in mind that fine-tuning of the operation and control of the building systems may be necessary during the first months and even years of the building operation.