Retrofitting Over Building New Infrastructure
Introduction
The most evident question that arises on one’s mind when the
issue of retrofitting is mentioned is: Is retrofitting more appropriate than
constructing a new building or infrastructure? It is apparent through
technological research that buildings and infrastructures do not have to be in
new conditions in order to be considered appropriate for retrofitting. Currently
buildings and infrastructural owners have indicated a high level of preference
towards retrofitting their buildings. This has been facilitated by the need to
modify existing buildings into desirable forms or designs that meet certain
conditions for example: Converting an existing building into a model that
facilitates sustainability. “The
current high economic challenges experienced by business stakeholders have
created a need to device strategies that could lower business operations costs” . This is one of the reasons why many companies currently
prefer retrofitting as a form of improving the quality of infrastructure
compared to building of new house. Retrofitting is more appropriate than
constructing new buildings especially when one has a desire to achieve certain
specific goals. One of the most common causes of retrofitting is to promote
sustainability for instance Encouraging saving of resources such as energy,
water and proper waste management. So what exactly is the meaning of retrofitting?
A significant number of technologists and engineers describe retrofitting as
the process of modifying a building or an infrastructure after it has been
completely constructed. In the case of buildings and infrastructure;
retrofitting basically entail making certain changes in the various systems
within or outside the buildings. Retrofitting may also be
performed on buildings that have just been completed and occupied i.e. new
buildings. Typically, the basis of retrofitting is to meet certain expectations
in accordance to stakeholders or owners of a building. However, the most common
cause of retrofitting in the current society it to enhance sustainability
through energy conservation. Certain infrastructural owners also perform retrofitting
of new buildings or existing old buildings in order to facilitate sustainable
use of water resources. A significant number of environmentalists are of the
view that retrofitting of current infrastructures or buildings is crucial for
environmental conversation purposes as well as for adaptation to the current
global environmental challenges.
Retrofitting is based on a Benchmark
of Six Steps, hence facilitating Sustainability
Considering the fact that retrofitting of new or existing
buildings has potential significant impacts on human well-beings and the
environment. There are six major steps that have been recommended to buildings
owners or construction companies to ensure that retrofitting process is conducted
in a safe manner. The first step that contractors or
construction companies should take into consideration is performing a baseline
assessment. This is a crucial step as it enables stakeholders to determine and
identify the reasons why one should engage in retrofitting of a new building or
an old building. It also creates a platform for the stakeholders to determine
their expectation resulting from the retrofitting process for example: The
amount of energy one would like to conserve. Consequently, performing the
baseline assessment is a key step towards identification of resources that may
be needed and their overall impacts on the building or the infrastructure. The second step that is recommended to
stakeholders during the retrofitting process is formulation of ‘Retrofit Action Plan’: The plan is of
paramount importance due to the fact that it enables construction stakeholders
and building owners to determine strategies that they can apply to retrofit or
modify their buildings or infrastructure. The plan also involves laying down
the amount of time needed to perform various tasks ascribed to the retrofit
process. Moreover, the ‘Retrofit Action
Plan’ is critical to the entire process as it enables stakeholders to
formulate strategies that can be applied to seek funds and other resources
pertinent for the retrofit project. Third step of retrofitting involvements
implementation of action plans, followed by performing annual updates, which
basically entails tracking or monitoring the retrofitting plants. These two
steps are followed by completion of the project and final assessment
respectively. Following the above mentioned steps when planning to perform
retrofitting of a building that have been recommended by various experts, has
been associated with development of higher sustainable buildings compared to
building a new house. In most cases, construction stakeholders or contractor
tend to engage in construction processes that are not recommended when building
a new house. This may lead to development of less sustainable buildings
compared to those that follow the strict benchmarks set to guide retrofitting
process.
Lower
Operational Costs
It is a fact that retrofitting of existing buildings or
infrastructures lowers operational costs of businesses and other dimensions of
entrepreneurship activities. This is the most
obvious benefits of retrofitting a building instead of engaging in an entire
process of developing a building from scratch. The most common reasons why
organizational managers and other concerned business stakeholders engage prefer
retrofitting of their existing buildings rather than engaging in construction
of new ones is to facilitate conservation of resources. The
current global environment and highly competitive business environment has
compelled business stakeholders to develop strategies that could lower their
operational costs, thus leading to generation of higher income. One of the
strategies is to performing retrofitting of their buildings in order to
facilitate conservation of energy resources, water or even facilitate
communication. It is important to acknowledge that even construction of a new
building may provide an opportunity for business managers to lower operational
costs. However, the overall operational costs will still be higher compared to
retrofitting, which may only involve performing modification on specific parts
of a building.
Facilitates
Lowering Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Environmental Footprint
Retrofitting of existing buildings creates a perfect
opportunity for stakeholders to develop buildings that enhance the use of lower
amount of resources for instance: Modifying buildings so that they allow more
sunlight during daytime. This is an appropriate strategy towards the reduction
of greenhouse gases that may be emitted when a new building is constructed from
scratch. Construction of a new building may involve the use of heavier
machinery compared to retrofitting. “There
is no doubt that construction of a new building may compel stakeholders to
extract certain resources i.e. new stone materials leading to degradation of
the natural environment through reduction of aesthetics of the environment” . As
aforementioned, retrofitting a building may only involve performing
modification on certain parts of the building rather than the whole building.
This may not require huge amounts of resources as in the case of constructing a
new building, hence reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that may be emitted
during the modification process.
Fast
Strategy to Attract Investors
In their research, Tobias and Vavaroutsos 2012 assert that “Retrofitting may also be performed on
buildings in order to improve its overall aesthetic value”. In addition,
stakeholders may perform retrofitting as a means of improving the indoor
environmental quality of a building. It is a fact that retrofitting process
consume smaller amount of time compared to building a new infrastructure or
building that may consume months and in some cases, more than one year. Most business investors currently prefer operating in
buildings that portray them positively among the clients, government and the
overall society. Taking this factor into consideration, most building and
infrastructural owners prefer retrofitting their existing buildings as a faster
strategy to attract investors who are mainly attracted to high quality
buildings.
Retrofitting
is More Cost-Efficient
Construction of a new building involves a series of
activities, usually beginning with environmental and social impact assessments. This may be followed by engaging in contracts, creating
the foundation of a building et cetera. In this regard, construction of a new building
basically entails utilization f a higher amount of financial, human and
technological resources compared to retrofitting. As aforementioned,
retrofitting does not involve construction from scratch; it is a strategy that
only involves modification of desired parts or portions of a building. In this regard, most managers or building owners will prefer
utilizing a strategy that does not subject their organizations to incur high
amounts of costs.
Exposes Building Owners to Range
of Technologies that Facilitate Saving of Resources
Retrofitting existing buildings exposes stakeholders and
building owners to a range of technologies that can be applied to facilitate
efficient use of resources such as: Water, energy and even management of waste. There are various technologies that have been developed to facilitate or
enable stakeholders to engage in retrofitting of existing buildings. One of
these technologies is the use of Absorption Chillers; this technology performs
similar function to the modern chillers. They produce chilled water that
performing the function of cooling. The major difference existing between
absorption chillers and the modern chillers is based on the fact that
absorption chillers are specifically driven by sources of heat instead of
electricity, hence facilitating saving of electric energy. These technologies
can be incorporated into the structure of an existing building efficiently
compared to the process of building of new infrastructure from scratch, which
may not allow stakeholders to incorporate resource conserving technologies
mainly as a result of their designs.
Conclusion
In summary, it is appropriate to acknowledge that
retrofitting is a better strategy to modify a building to in accordance with
the requirements of the owner of the building as compared to constructing a new
building. To begin with, retrofitting facilitates development of high quality
infrastructures considering the fact that there are certain specific guidelines
that are followed by contractors. These guidelines are universal and act as benchmarks
that enhance the development of high quality infrastructure. Additionally, it
is apparent that retrofitting lower the overall operational costs of a company
compared to constructing a new infrastructure from scratch. A aforementioned,
retrofitting require managers to modify specific parts of a building, which do
not consume the same amounts of resources as may be required to construct an
entire new building. For stakeholders that intend to attract investors or
portray a positive image of themselves in the society by having the most
sustainable buildings, retrofitting is the most appropriate strategy.
Retrofitting does not only involve a consumption of small amount of financial
resources, but it can also be performed within a short period of time, allowing
organizations to meet to enhance the process of meeting their short-term goals.
Consequently, retrofitting exposes building owners to a range of technologies
that enable them to enhance saving of various resources such as: Water and
energy.
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