Every year we find contractors who are unfamiliar with retrofit projects, strewn along the road to the poor house. Brian Seymour looks at it from an estimating perspective.

Unlike new installations or the shonky ‘price per point’ estimate, the retrofit estimate requires a lot more intelligent thought because there is a significant risk of creating mistakes. Even with a set of contract documents, plans and specifications, there are a multitude of labour-intensive tasks which are not spelt out, and misinterpretation can be costly.

No matter how sophisticated your estimating software, omissions are easily made when assessing the degree of difficulty installing a cabling system into an existing building.

Electrical retrofits are modernisations used to update outmoded electrical installations to bring them up to today’s standards. Retrofit is a solution to replace obsolete or defective equipment parts and components while maintaining equipment and the original functional unit characteristics in your electrical system.

In many instances, a retrofit can be far more complicated and expensive than installing an initial cabling system.

Planning for a retrofit installation involves a multitude of tasks that need to be considered completely, before jumping in and ripping out cable. Each retrofit requires deliberation for a unique set of circumstances. Some retrofits involve a simple expansion, others may involve a complete restructure of the cabling and accessories.

With thousands of factories, warehouses and other types of commercial buildings all over Australia, many have outdated wiring and lighting systems. This can cause more expensive lighting bills and inadequate lighting conditions. Other issues, replacing switchgear components to upgrade, renew or provide more functionalities, such as connectivity. Often, obsolete active components can be refurbished and repaired or recycled, and switchgear housing, accessories and extra LV cabinets, can be reused.

Commercial and industrial buildings typically have a long history of expansions and changes of use, many of which are not documented. A new owner or lessee would probably have no idea who installed the wiring and switchboard, its rating or whether it is fit for purpose in their enterprise. Even long-term owners often have no idea of the state of their electrical infrastructure.

Retrofitting can be a great marketing tool for electrical contractors (ECs). The EC needs to put on their marketing cap to convince the customer that the lighting quality is more than just the quantity of illumination that the lighting system provides. Lighting quality helps people perform visual tasks more effectively and efficiently. Whether it is the assembly of a product or performing a clerical task, quality lighting can make a considerable difference and can affect productivity and the visual comfort, mood and safety of people occupying the space.

Decisions to replace lighting fittings or upgrade the technology in the existing. The latter may be more economical due to the possible structural changes needed for new fittings of different dimensions. An established building can be improved by investing in new equipment, services, technology and energy management. Most buildings up for retrofit have never had these systems, and new technology and devices could save consumers thousands of dollars per year.

There are several issues to consider such as the difference between new construction work and retrofits.

While residential retrofits may not cause great additional costing for the EC, (depending on the extent of the work), even a minor environmental upgrade to LED lights rather than incandescent can be disruptive.

A major overhaul may require the occupants to move out for the duration. However, for a smaller residential retrofit, with the occupants still residing, the EC needs to allow time each day to pack away equipment, materials and make safe all circuits. Then allow the time required the following day to reset all equipment and materials.

It is important when working in an occupied home that you have adequate drop sheets and protective covers to shield furniture and floors from possible damage. Homeowners are not delighted about the sparky standing on the grand piano to fit off the chandelier.

Commercial and Industrial projects require more endeavour from the EC, which differs from the communication with the homeowner/decision-maker. Usually, site upgrade projects are planned, contracts approved and payment terms are set before decisions are made. Clauses that need close scrutiny such as, ‘liquidated damages’ can be a massive cost in the instance of inability to meet the contract time schedule. Retrofit projects, attract higher penalties due to the vast costs the client is amassing if accommodating plant, equipment and staff elsewhere.

Therefore, it is wise to prepare an electrical site report (ESR) to determine the scope of works before plans and specs are signed off (there are several examples available on the web).

An ESR identifies key issues around the operation and safety of a structure, such as:

• Is there enough power for the site and can the local electricity supply authority provide the increase in load?
• If so, does the site supply need upgrading?
• In many of these instances, the EC will need to provide considerable paperwork to the local supply authority.
• Can existing sub mains handle the additional load?
• Can existing cable routes, risers and cable trays carry additional cabling?
• Can the main and sub-switchboards cope with the additional load?
• Do the existing switchboards meet current standards?
• Switchboards that need replacement, can they be removed from their position without a total demolition (often a main switchboard has been installed in position prior to the switch room completion).

Commercial retrofits have many more issues to be addressed and to develop staged project plans that include:

• Making use of temporary workspaces for business continuity, whether it be elsewhere in the building or off-site, and may require:
  • Installation and wiring to temporary computer workstations.
  • Temporary installations to telecom outlets.
  • Temporary installations to electrical outlets and lighting.
  • Disposal and recycling of old systems that may contain dangerous materials.

• Improved lighting quality using innovative technologies to increase reliability to the lighting system, such as improved colour, reduced flicker, greater light output, etc.
• Intelligent lighting control systems are used to simply switch areas of lighting off when not in use
• Installation of lux sensors that adjust lighting levels depending on the amount of natural light available throughout the day
• Energy management systems using Power over Ethernet (PoE) for energy saving and security
• If retrofitting historical or old buildings, you must have an awareness of any National Trust or heritage issues that may be in place. Many ECs have made huge losses on these types of jobs through ignorance
• Be aware, buildings without available schematics will require a thorough inspection prior to tender
• Recognise construction costs when working with existing space to instal equipment such as door access systems, security cameras and lighting

Industrial retrofits, although similar issues as above, but a few are specific to this sector of the industry:

• If this industrial plant intends to continue working during the retrofit, it may require arrangements for rental of alternate backup power systems and temporary lighting
• May require the relocation of heavy-duty equipment between temporary and permanent workspaces. This may need the services of an industrial removalist company with all the appropriate equipment to carry out the task
• Requirements for the proper disposal and recycling of old systems that may contain dangerous materials
• Control building security with the Internet of things (IoT) and wireless networks which are becoming essential

The costliest projects are those that need to be operational 24/7, such as hospitals and continuous factory production, where not only will there be requirements for backup power, but also variations in labour allocation.

Many of these operations involve processes that run continuously and require military-type scheduling and supervision. A project such as retrofitting the main switchboard in an emergency hospital with absolute minimum downtime. This may require teams to operate in shifts and workers with specific responsibilities (similar to the Grand Prix F1 mechanics) to complete the tasks in the minimum of time. The estimator must be aware that shift work or extended hours affects productivity and must make the appropriate allowances.

Those ECs contemplating industrial retrofits should familiarise themselves with the increasing requirements of industry for the reduction of carbon and energy management systems. Retrofitting not only offers benefits to the occupants but will also offer positive impacts on the environment. Plus, you will be able to minimise utility costs.

The planning and implementation of safe and efficient energy management is crucial in business to ensure that projects are well-planned, cost-effective and compliant with Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) obligations.

The retrofitting EC needs to stay up to date with changing regulations and legal requirements. Many clean energy advocates see heating and cooling powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels as critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change. With the above in mind and winter approaching, there may well be considerable retrofitting opportunities for the well-informed EC.

There are already factories in Japan, retrofitted to employ ‘lights-out’ manufacturing during 24-hour operation. They are fully automated and require no human presence and therefore a great saving in energy cost. If this becomes a trend, the retrofitting EC will want to keep up with the technology.