What are the most effective energy efficiency upgrades for older buildings?

Low hanging fruit: - Lighting - Switching ‘OFF’ cooling or ‘Heating’ based on an Occupancy Sensor - Fresh Air Control based on same Occupancy Sensor

Assuming that the building owner will focus on the cheapest and fastest ROI, and that there is no budget for HVAC or major upgrades, I would say: - sealing leaks (doors and windows) - local occupancy sensors for lights (assuming no money for a BAS, they are quite cheap and easy to install nowadays) - lighting, move it to LED - thermostats: check locations, and that they work properly - HVAC current conditions: understand the setup in place, verify that it is working as intended, apply the necessary corrections, and verify opportunities for optimization through configuration of operative parameters All of these are low investment/ low budget options, maybe except from lighting. With more budget we can talk about insulation improvements!

LED Lighting: Upgrading to LED lighting HVAC System Upgrades: Improving or replacing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems can lead to substantial energy savings. Building Insulation: Enhancing insulation in walls, roofs, and floors Energy-Efficient Windows: Installing double or triple-pane windows Water Conservation Measures: Low-flow fixtures and water-efficient landscaping Solar Energy Installations: Solar panels can provide renewable energy Building Automation Systems: Advanced controls for lighting, HVAC, and other systems can optimize energy use. Energy Management Systems: Retrocommissioning: This process ensures that all systems are functioning at their most efficient. Green Roofing:

As we all are aware the around 60% load in a building is of HVAC, so maximum energy saving can also be possible from the same. In an old building there are more chances of heating/cooling losses as ducts may get damaged, there might be openings, system will also be aged. The equipments of old technology & less efficient. So have to completely analyze all losses, equipments & need to address all issues. Have to check whether actuators are functional or not, if not then need to be changed. If BMS is not installed, then atleast centrallized ON/OFF panel should be there to monitor and controll all HVAC equipments. Apart from HVAC, lighting also have to be looked into. LED lighting is better than old conventional one. Sensors to be installed

The most effective energy upgrades for older buildings: 1. Insulation: Upgrading insulation in walls, roofs, and floors improves thermal performance, reducing energy waste. 2. Windows and Doors: Replacing old, leaky windows and doors with energy-efficient ones enhances insulation and reduces drafts. 3. Lighting: Switching to LED lighting lowers energy consumption and reduces heat generation. 4. HVAC Systems: Updating heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems with high-efficiency models saves energy. 5. Energy-Efficient Appliances. 7. Renewable Energy. 9. Water Efficiency. 10. Energy Audits.

Air sealing has always been the most overlooked component of energy efficiency. Especially in older buildings where air leakage could be as high as 40 or even 50% of the heat loss! We have had the technology to accurately measure air leakage in buildings for 40-50 years now but the challenge is in pin pointing the leakage areas and then sealing them without extensive destructive renovations.

Agree with Joe. Measure HVAC consumption, as commercial office buildings, this may account for 60% of running costs depending on climate and setup. HVAC systems are rather archaic, as they are reactive, and need to undo what the climate or population density has already imposed on the indoor environment quality. Improving the insulation of the fenestration systems and envelope is an obvious active measure to reduce energy consumption, but there is a need for smart active systems to reduce the temperature load on the building and increase integrated photovoltaics to power lighting or the smart systems.

draught proofing alone can have a huge impact. In my role at the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Buildings (a now-defunct stakeholder network formerly hosted by the Energy Saving Trust, then by the National Energy Foundation) I once facilitated the revision of a guidance document for loft insulation. Main point of contention was the loft hatch. Insulating your loft/attic but leaving the loft hatch drafty and/or uninsulated constitutes a hugely disproportional performance penalty.

Infiltration and ventilation before conduction. Not all building envelope improvements are made equally. Fenestration sits somewhere in the middle, depending on exposure and cooling profile.

The number one overlooked insulation type is radiant insulation. Coating the exterior of the building roof and walls with a radiant reflective or low emissivity coating can typically reduce cooling and heating loads be 15 to 65 percent. Some of these coatings can be tinted or even painted over. Examples of radiant reflection insulation are TC Ceramic, TempCoat 101 and SuperTherm. The first two are based on ceramic microspheres and the third is based on four sizes of flat ceramics. An example of a low emissivity coating is Lo-MIT I and II. This insulation is a non-thickness dependent low emissivity coating. It combines Aluminum and Silicon in an oil for I and water carrier for II. Next don’t forget Energy Recovery Ventilation. BPE

In my experience, I have seen the decision to opt for more efficient lighting drastically cause reduction of energy consumption especially for commercial and residential facilities. Also, As simple as put off lightning points(and air conditioners)when room not in use, and sockets when not in use can also make a difference.

Upgrading lighting systems in older buildings requires a transition to energy-efficient fixtures such as LEDs, halogens, or CFLs, taking into account their lumens per watt & colour rendering index. The technical aspects of such an upgrade involve retrofitting the appropriate bulb bases & fixtures to match the existing infrastructure. To enhance efficiency, installing controls like occupancy sensors, timers, or daylight sensors can adjust lighting based on occupancy & natural light availability. Retrofitting diverse fixtures while preserving aesthetics poses a challenge. The solution lies in selecting fixtures that complement the building's design and leveraging advanced controls to balance energy savings with preserving authenticity.

One overlooked area is the addition of natural lighting with integrated light fixtures. One excellent product is made by Daylight America out of Phoenix, Arizona. I once used 450 of their units in a project from 1998 to 2003 while Energy Manager at Fort Huachuca, Arizona

These days even LED lighting can be inefficient. Combining high efficacy fittings with good L and B ratings, with daylight harvesting sensors can drastically reduce both mercury waste from older technology fluorescent lamps and reducing the carbon footprint of a building through energy saving.

I don't think that halogen lamps can be called energy efficient anymore. Energy efficiency in lighting today practically means LED lights and intelligent control.

Replacing or upgrading the indoor fans with direct drive EC fans is an easy and cost effective way to reduce fan power. Run hours, duty cycle and the efficiency and condition of the existing fan system need to be taken into consideration. Once the system is upgraded it’s also future proof as the new fans allow for high level integration and near infinite speed control across the whole rpm range, making it possible to apply new control strategies later on.

Air filters are the second highest energy guzzlers after ducting in an HVAC system. New generation air filters with lower pressure drops and desirable efficiencies are now days easily available which can contribute to lowering the energy bill. Go one step further and use Eurovent rated air filters for assured savings.

The implementation of Building Management Systems (BMS) is a must for older buildings. They allow buildings to run based on demand, establish schedules, run chillers at partial load, control VFDs efficiently, etc. In many cases, with a little BMS update and a recommissioning study the energy performance improves significantly. There are also many incentives from utility companies that help with the costs of these improvements. You must take advantage of them while they are still available.

This should be one of the most effective ways. Old buildings use pneumatic thermostats, and it is very easy to retrofit them with a digitized wireless pneumatic thermostat. With the digitized units it is possible to implement some energy control sequences: - Supply air temperature reset - Occupied and unoccupied schedules - Pre-cooling and demand response - etc and they also give us information to schedule a performance-based maintenance to the HVAC system.

Great point! Just to add that in Singapore, building owners tend to upgrade or replace their chiller plant around every 15 years or so. Places with more intensive usage may opt for a short replacement cycle. Overall, as technology and mindsets change, a total re-thinking of the HVAC setup could bring upon cost-saving and optimisation opportunities that can not only reduce operating costs but better respond to occupants' preferences.

Taking advantage of available rooftop and parking lot space by adding solar is a great way to offset uncertainty in the future energy market. Adding to a properties’ energy diversity through various means (like solar,battery, etc) will build long term cost savings, decrease TCO and reduce total grid dependence. Having multiple sources of energy can increase redundancy and uptime for high value circuits while remaining useful and productive on the system. Depending on the criticality of the equipment, there may be potential to reduce the quantity of backup and stand-by systems that sit idle until grid failure happens.

Switching to electric heating using heat pumps gives lots of options for energy cost efficiency through grid flex services. Older buildings sometimes need higher temperatures so propane or CO2 heat pumps are a good option.

Installing facade or roof mounted, transpired solar collectors are an excellent retrofit option particularly in cool temperate climates where fresh air requirements exceed 2500l/s. Having the aesthetics and ease of installation of a conventional metal cladding a facade-mounted system will produce an annual energy yield of 1.5 - 2.0 GJ/m2 of collector area when preheating 15-45 l/s of incoming fresh air per square meter of collector area. Such transpired solar air heating systems have also demonstrated effective and cost efficient fresh air filtration reducing airborne particulate matter by 50% thereby improving indoor air quality and reducing opex.

In our journey to help lower our carbon footprint we need to consider all our options. Energy Conservation Measures, other energy sources and our behavior. Every building and business is unique and configuring the right solution is the easiest when you use all your options. This makes the implementation easier, faster and more economical.

Installing of Energy meters & Monitoring periodically, To ensure the HVAC and Lighting Utilities under Control. To implement smart system which enhance the operations sustainable. To phase out the earlier working models with innovative equipment's.

The importance of implementing smart meters and devices in older buildings lies in their ability to revolutionize energy management and sustainability. These advanced technologies enable you to monitor, measure, and effectively manage your building's energy consumption and performance, providing invaluable data and insights for optimization. This drives transparency and accountability on “both sides of the meter” to eliminate physical and financial waste. Real-time transparency empowers and motivates individuals at every level of an organization to impact their area of ownership. This transparency drives change from the bottom up, enabling legitimate and demonstrable changes in enterprises’ environmental and financial sustainability.

Smart meters and sensors are effective in controlling and identifying usage. However, it is ecological to acquire and install such meters and sensors that can be used to adjust some consumption item. Installing unnecessary sensors and meters does no good and therefore only wastes natural resources. Unnecessary data can also be a disturbance factor in control and regulation.

Probably the most cost effective upgrade. The canary in the coalmine for efficiency degradation. Needs to be a part of every energy manager's toolbox.

A building in the Yukon or Texas have a complete different requirement. For each type of building and location you configure a unique configuration. Playing with technology, knowledge and the right financing will make your goals much easier. What are your targets, goals and how are you going to achieve them? Search for the right experts and make it happen. It is possible!

There is a new product on the market for buildings and facilities it is called MPTS or Maximum Power Transfer Solutions. Briefly it is clean power, not in the sense of Wind or Solar but clean power filtered. MPTS can be implemented in the electrical panels in Distribution Centers, Chiller plants, Factories, Warehouses, Data Centers, and Buildings. It is all the power quality systems available on the market today in one unit. Those power quality systems are Harmonics elimination, sags and swell elimination and Real-time Power factor correction .98 to .99 adjusted in Realtime. It also monitors Kwh and all three phases of electrical in real time via your phone. There has not been a breakthrough in the electrical industry quite like this one.

Equipment is a major contributor to a building cooling load. It is important to switch all equipment to high efficiency ones. In buildings with poor glazing properties, internal reflective blinds can be used to reject solar heat gains. Occupant behavior is another major factor. Implemented measures must improve on occupant's quality of lifestyle and wellbeing. Any measures taken that increases inconveniences will be doomed to fail from the start. Nudge psychology must be in place to gently push building's occupants towards good behavior for energy efficiency to happen in practice. No technology can fix the energy lost due to a door or window jammed opened by one of the building's occupants.

Here is a thought for setting the stage as where to look. I think about energy flowing through a building. There are two basic patterns of energy flow. For some the action is at the building envelope. Houses are envelope-dominated. Nearly every room has an outside wall. Heat flows in through the walls in the summer and out in the winter. Big buildings are different. Many rooms have no outside walls but there are many energy-using lights, computers, printers and sometimes little heaters under the desks. Dollars often flow with energy. So I first go to where the action is.

Reduce peak energy demand, heating as well as cooling. When major refurbishment is planned, install pipes for radiator heating, then gas can be replaced with district heating or efficient heat pumos.