9 Building Retrofits Zoe Le Hong, Yewon Ji, and Ray Wang Technology Overview Building retrofits represent a strategic approach to enhancing the sustainability and energy efficiency of existing structures. This process involves applying various technologies and practices to improve overall performance. By implementing measures such as optimizing insulation, enhancing airtightness, upgrading HVAC, and integrating renewable energy sources, building retrofits can substantially mitigate energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions. Retrofitting will reduce buildings' heating, cooling, and electricity loads, thus reducing energy demand (and associated costs and emissions) and stress on MIT’s district energy and electricity systems. Additionally, retrofit projects can enhance occupant comfort and indoor air quality, contributing to a healthier and more productive campus environment. We systematically assess MIT's existing building portfolio. This involves gathering pertinent data and creating energy models to establish baseline building conditions. Subsequently, we categorize buildings based on age and program type, following the current groupings of the MIT Facilities teams. These groups inform model inputs of material characteristics, programmatic function, system operations. Using this information, we propose potential typology-level upgrades aimed at progressively reducing buildings' energy loads over time. For each building, we will establish the baseline model as reference, calibrated against actual metered data. For each upgrade scenario, we consider the following KPIs: - Identification of potential retrofit measures with consideration of technical compatibility, risk, budget, levels of disruption, and lifecycle emissions - Combining these measures into packages of 2 upgrade scenarios (partial and full implementation) for different retrofit options (ex. façade, windows, etc.) - Baseline & scenario average Energy Use Intensity (EUI) by end-use – heating, cooling, electricity (KWh/m2), with % change in EUI Risk and Innovation The Capital Renewal Team at MIT has historically conducted building assessments every 5 to 6 years and devised comprehensive programs every 10 years for the entire campus. However, these initiatives have not primarily focused on energy usage, and given the limited space on campus, the priority for most buildings is to accommodate laboratories, classrooms, offices, and similar facilities. The campus is particularly sensitive to disruptions, especially in residential halls and lab-intensive buildings. Implementing these changes risks disrupting the allocation of space for current programs, a concern that poses substantial difficulties for full-scale implementation measures. Even partial implementation efforts must be carefully planned, often necessitating that work be conducted during the summer months when the campus is less populated and thus less disrupted by such activities.
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