Siemens: With 80% of buildings expected to be in use for the next 30 years retrofitting will provide a more economic and sustainable future

SCI, the building management service provider, has partnered with Siemens Smart Infrastructure to reconfigure and refurbish Garrard House, EC2 in the City of London.  The former Schroder offices will undergo a £850,000 retrofit that will see the newest adaptive mechanical and electrical systems installed to optimise the building’s energy efficiency.  On completion, the building’s CO2 emissions will be reduced by 50% to 35kg/m2 compared with the existing structure.

Located in the heart of the financial centre and close to St Paul’s Cathedral and other cultural landmarks, Garrard House provides approximately 170,000 sq. ft. of office space over nine floors, with two ground floor retail units, and two basement levels plus a roof plant level.  The improvement works will be designed to meet the BREEAM Non-Domestic Refurbishment 2014 “Excellent” rating.

“Buildings account for more than 40 percent of the electricity consumption in cities and with nearly 80% of them having already been built [for use over the next 30 years]*, retrofitting existing structures, to make them more energy efficient, will be a priority if the UK is to hit net-zero carbon targets by 2050,” said Ian Grainger, head of sales comfort division Siemens.  “The upgrading of Garrard House is a classic example of a high-end retrofit done well, designed to meet its sustainability goals.  Not only are we laying the infrastructure for safe, reliable and energy-efficient building operations but we are also creating a modern working environment that will enhance the productivity and wellbeing of its occupants.”

By retaining and re-using the existing structure Garrard House will save over 2,500 tonnes of embodied carbon emissions, creating a sustainable building for the future.  The works included the replacement of all the existing electrical and mechanical installations and HVAC distributions with a new BMS (Building Management System) designed and installed by SCI based on Siemens Desigo CC, the integrated building management platform.  The Siemens controllers connect third-party smart devices using BACnet (open protocol) into a centralised software platform.  Desigo CC enables building operators to monitor and control energy systems such as HVAC, lighting and power systems to optimise performance and comfort.  An open protocol system allows building owners to effectively plug and play devices and peripherals from different manufacturers with ease i.e. device agnostic.

Building managers at Garrard House will have upon handover a 360-degree graphical view of the plant controlled by the system; allowing for real-time monitoring of equipment to modify energy use, environmental conditions and modes of operation.  Set-points, alarms to predict problems or maintenance issues, times, time delays and time schedules can be regulated or set, according to operator access rights.

Said James Wallace, technical sales director SCI: “We are experienced in complex reconfiguration and refurbishment works.  The upgrade plan for Garrard House introduced the newest technologies available today while maximising the service life of some of the installed systems.  Control routines built into the main plant central systems integrated with Siemens Green Leaf technologies maintain the perfect climate while saving energy.”

In addition, SCI has undertaken numerous high-profile BMS projects across London and the surrounding areas including major building management system installations such as 1-3 Grosvenor Square, Premier Place, Camden Town Hall Annexe, HAVAS, Microsoft, Amazon HQ, Deutsche Bank, and 109 Lambeth, Metropolitan Police and Unilever’s European Headquarters.