International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 10, Issue 01, January 2019, pp. 1450-1471, Article ID: IJCIET_10_01_133
Available online at [Link]
ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABILITY IN
EXISTING BUILDING THROUGH
RETROFITTING MEASURES
S.M. Che Husin, N.I. Mohd Zaki and M.K. Abu Husain
Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia

ABSTRACT
Energy is part of everyday lives and often taken for granted. Daily energy usage in
existing building has produced vast amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and
this contributes to major cause of climate change. Society today has become much too
dependent on electrical devices and appliances without any regard that excessive
energy consumption is threat to climate change. Malaysia has been progressively
contributing efforts in tackling climate change and growth rate of GHG emission
through promoting sustainable living and improving energy consumption in built-
environment sector. The main driver in reducing energy consumption is by retrofitting
existing building stocks in Malaysia. Excessive energy consumption in existing building
is related to unethical behaviour of owner/tenants as the main consumer. Retrofitting
the existing building is one of possible way in improving the energy efficiency. Thus,
this report aims to reflect existing building stocks in Malaysia, factors that contribute
to excessive energy consumption in existing building and understanding of retrofit
concept. By the end of this report, retrofitting measures to improve energy efficiency in
existing building are highlighted, including case study of successful retrofitting
implementation at Perdana Putra, the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya.
Implementation of effective and affordable retrofit measures help the existing building
to depend less on energy usage, which lead to reduce national energy consumption.
Keywords: sustainable infrastructure, energy consumption, energy efficiency;
retrofitting; existing building
Cite this Article: S.M. Che Husin, N.I. Mohd Zaki and M.K. Abu Husain,
Implementing Sustainability in Existing Building Through Retrofitting Measures,
International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 10(01), 2019, pp. 1450–
1471
[Link]

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 S.M. Che Husin, N.I. Mohd Zaki and M.K. Abu Husain

1. INTRODUCTION
Malaysia is a developing country (Mohd Sood et al., 2013; Mohd Sood et al., 2011) and
throughout its journey to be a developed country in 2050, the rate of development in Malaysia
is very rapid with the contribution of construction industry. This rate of development comes
with environmental, social and economic consequences. Thus, Malaysia has been
progressively contributing effort towards global sustainable development (Saadatian et al.,
2012) by integrating sustainable construction aims to aid future and current generations to
achieve better quality of life (Hill & Bowen, 1997).
Recently, the world has been promoting sustainable living where green infrastructure is
currently in trend and more likely to be demanded by tenants, investors and building owners
(Rodi et al., 2015). This is because more people are concerned with and demand to purchase
building that are energy saving and contribute less greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Despite
the rising awareness of reducing global warming by minimizing environmental issues through
adapting sustainability and green concept in construction industry, the majority of the
construction players in Malaysia are focusing on new developments, neglecting the existence
of existing building in Malaysia.
Sustainable construction objectives are met not only by adapting green and sustainable in
new infrastructure but also by improving the performance of existing building stock in
Malaysia, which will in turn improve energy efficiency and alleviate GHG emissions. Hassan
et al., (2014) mentioned that in Malaysia, existing buildings consume a total of 48 per cent of
the electricity generated in the country and this expected to increase with the increasing demand
of new development of housings, commercial buildings, etc. This is because the majority of
existing buildings in Malaysia were built without regard for energy efficiency, and the
awareness of energy efficiency among energy consumers is not thoroughly ingrained
(Jagarajan et al., 2015).
Nowadays, as community is seeking to embrace green and sustainable concept, the Real
Estate development in Malaysia implements it by adding green features into their new
buildings. Although new buildings are claimed to be net-zero energy, to accomplish significant
impact on the overall building energy consumption for the entire building stock will take years
(Azis et al., 2015). Therefore, improving energy efficiency of existing building would be more
comprehensive and it can be done through retrofitting existing buildings. A building does not
have to be new to be efficient (Calderone, 2015) and to achieve optimum sustainability. New
building developments require a long and expensive process that would take years to be
completed and even more time for the impact on sustainability to felt. Malaysia’s transition
toward sustainable living cannot be achieved if the causal factors of excessive building’s
energy consumption are not understood by consumer (owner/tenants).
Retrofitting existing building is one approach in achieving sustainability in construction by
upgrading energy efficiency and improving environmental performance of the building or
decreasing building energy demand (Mohd Sood et al., 2013). Retrofit concept has also been
applied to protect existing historical buildings from losing their cultural significance and to
protect the existing buildings from severe damage caused by nature or human activities (Cui et
al., 2010). Retrofitting of existing building had been done in many parts of developing countries
in Asia Pacific such as China, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand (Brooke,
2011) and is proven to be an effective, low-cost strategy to improve energy consumption and
to tackle one of major causes of climate change.
As mentioned before, even though retrofitting is listed as one way of improving GHG emission, the
practices and implementation of retrofitting measure are not widely used in Malaysia. As Green
Building Index (GBI) rating tool was established in 2009, the number of green buildings in Malaysia

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 Implementing Sustainability in Existing Building Through Retrofitting Measures

has been progressively increasing (Nazri et al., 2015) with the majority of this rating coming from the
new construction of green building. Nevertheless, achieving sustainability is not only by constructing
new green building, but the emphasis should be on greening existing building stock. Therefore,
retrofitting the existing buildings will help to achieve optimal sustainability as well as achieve the
nation’s sustainable agenda to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emission by 40% by 2020 (Zaid, et. al.,
2015; Unit Perancang Ekonomi Malaysia, 2015; Christopher, 2010).

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Existing Building Stock in Malaysia
Sustainability is not only concerned with new construction or new green buildings. Many
countries failed to meet United Nations target of 2002 because the countries failed to enhance
and solve the issues with existing building stock (Miller & Buys, 2008). Today, Malaysia’s
construction industry is rapidly showing growth and increment in country’s economic growth.
Moreover, current on-going mega projects of green buildings and newly-announced projects
offer the promise to earmark sustainable city and living in Malaysia. However, the construction
of new green building only portrays small percentage of overall building stock in Malaysia,
while existing buildings represent all building stock (Nazri et al., 2015; Wood, 2006).
The newly built green building will take quite some time before the impact on sustainability
is felt. In a study by Mike Jackson (2005), it takes 26 years of life span for new buildings to
give impact on sustainability by saving more energy rather than just continuing to use the
existing building. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Climate Change
2014: Synthesis Report highlighted that retrofitting existing buildings will contribute to largest
portion of carbon saving by 2030. This emphasizes that it is important to ensure existing
buildings are operated efficiently throughout its life cycle in order to achieve sustainability and
to forge better built environment.
Figure 1 summarizes the existing building stock in Malaysia for 2015 and the numbers are
going to increase in the following years. Some of these buildings have existed for years or even
decades in Malaysia, and most were not built with regard to energy efficiency and sustainable
(Miller & Buys, 2008). Wood (2006) reported that impact of existing building on sustainability
is optimal. High density of existing building stock exists in Malaysia (as listed in Figure 1) and
study made by LaSalle in 2010 found retrofitting at least 80 percent of existing building stocks
has enormous potential to achieve reduction in the country’s emission target by year 2020
compared to focusing on new building stock.

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Figure 1: Summary of Existing Stock for Residential, Commercial, Leisure and Industrial
Property Sub-Sector in 2015 (Source: National Property Information Centre)

Existing building stocks make a significant contribution to Malaysia’s transition towards

sustainable development as these buildings are one of the main drivers for excessive energy
consumption in Malaysia. This occurred because when the building gets older, it demands more
energy for building operation as its performance level has decreased over time (Borja, 2016).
Moreover, many new construction projects nearby the existing buildings has disrupted direct
lighting and air tightness of the building envelope (Economidou et al., 2011), which may
explain why thermal value in existing buildings is higher compared to new buildings. When
buildings do not receive enough direct lighting and natural ventilation, the user will opt for
using air-conditioning and artificial lightings which leads to increment of energy consumption.
As building regulations in Malaysia have improved over time, sustainability has become
one of the main aspects in the new building regulations. Since the existing buildings were
constructed based on standards of the past regulations, to meet the new standards would require
the existing building to undergo several retrofit works. The retrofit works are also considered
as an attempt to preserve our cultural heritage (Stone, 2005), similar to what UNESCO has
been working on to preserve historical cities and architecture around the world. Retrofitting
would be better option rather than demolishing the existing building for new development,
hence it is better for the owner to improve their existing building than to build a green building.
The older an existing building, the greater the deterioration, thus the value of the existing
building in the market decreases over time (Lovins, 1992). This become reason for the
developers to demolish the existing building and construct a new building, rather than
retrofitting it as real-estate developers and investors only want new buildings that give them
more return of investment value. Demolition project of existing building for new construction
will generate more waste as demolition waste is double the amount of construction waste
(Vasudevan, 2015). Excessive waste generated from construction and demolition work has
adverse impact in achieving sustainability agenda. The wastes collected in Malaysia are usually
dumped in the landfill (Vasudevan, 2015), which it will lead to environmental problems. Also,
study by Jackson (2005) found that if an existing building were demolished and replaced by
new green building, it would take 65 years to recover the energy lost in demolishing and
reconstructing new structure in its place.

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2.2. Factors Affecting Energy Consumption from the Existing Building

Rapid rise in climate change and a growing number of natural disasters destroying cities and
forests reported around the world has opened up awareness in communities to move towards
sustainable development. Yet this transition toward sustainable living cannot be achieved if the
causal factors of building’s energy consumption are not understood by communities (Skopek,
2013). The transition will be meaningless if we do are able to reduce energy consumption of
existing building stock. In considering a building as a whole, the factors below play important
roles in shaping energy consumption used by existing building and are key driver for
sustainable improvement to meet Malaysia’s sustainable development goals by 2020.

2.2.1. Age and Size of Building

Existing buildings in Malaysia were built in various shape, size and design; and to serve
different purpose to fulfil human need. These buildings were also built and designed without
incorporating good energy standards that make the buildings inefficient. In previous years,
designer and developers were not exposed and concerned with energy efficiency and energy
use in a building. A study of relationship between annual energy consumption per area and
construction year of homes conducted by Shrestha and Kulkarni (2010) showed that homes
that were constructed in recent year of 2008 consumed less energy compared to the homes that
were built in 2001 and 2005. In the same research study, Shrestha and Kulkarni found
correlation which showed the electricity consumption of home increased as the size of the floor
area increased.
The energy consumption of a building is mainly related to the age and size of the building.
With increasing of world temperature, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) is
essential in order to provide thermal comfort for building occupants (Gul and Patidar, 2015;
Pérez-Lombard, et. al., 2008). Small size building will require less air condition as the transfer
area of air movement is smaller compared to large size buildings that have bigger space. The
bigger the space area, the bigger capacity of air conditioning system is needed to cool the space,
resulting in more electrical consumption for the building as the central air conditioning
consumes greater amount of electricity compared to split air-conditioning system (Yuan et al.,
2016).

2.2.2. Building Design

Overall building design can help in determining the amount of lighting, heating, and cooling
required by a building. Major categories that need to be highlighted by building designer –
architects and engineers are building orientation, building services and energy systems used,
indoor design conditions and materials used for the construction (Rajapaksha et al., 2017;
Hassan, et al., 2014). The architects and engineers need to develop innovative ways to improve
overall building design by integrating a proper balance of passive and active design strategies
(Climate TechBook, 2009). In a study of Energy Analysis of Commercial Buildings in
Subtropical Climates (Lam, 2000) mentioned that building design is a major factor that affects
energy emission in warm climates.
A good design approach will significantly make the building less dependent on energy use
as the building itself will influence its overall energy consumption (Climate TechBook, 2009).
Passive design strategies use ambient energy sources including maximizing natural
daylighting, natural ventilation and the use of solar energy. On the other hand, active design
strategies use purchased energy to create comfortable environment by using mechanical
ventilations, electric lighting and so on (Autodesk, 2011). Generally, a good passive and active
building design will help in reducing energy consumption.

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2.2.3. Building Envelope and Material Used

Malaysia is located in between latitude 4o 12’ N / 101o 58’ E which make this country blessed
by naturally receiving plenty of sunlight, an average of 6 hours per day, with high solar
radiation and abundant rainfall (Hassan et al., 2014; Zakaria et al., 2013). This country
experienced high humidity and hot climate throughout the year with depleted wind speeds and
low variation of indoor air velocity, thus major concern in high energy consumption is
insufficient indoor air movement (Lim, 2014).
Building envelope is the physical separator between interior and exterior of a building. The
component of envelope includes wall, floor, roof, fenestration (window, skylight, etc.) and
doors. A well-designed envelope should be using suitable materials and must suit local climate
so that the heat transfer within the building can be minimized (Climate TechBook, 2009;
Autodesk, 2011). In hot tropical climate, the heat transfer between indoor environment and
outdoor climate is significant through the fenestration of building envelope (Rajapaksha et al.,
2017), which means a good approach of building envelope is needed not only to provide
adequate natural ventilation and lighting but at the same time keeping the building cool.
Shrestha and Kulkarni (2010) studied the relationship between annual energy consumption
of homes with three different types of window glass used. The results indicated that percentage
of electricity consumption in homes that used double panel low-emissivity (e) glass in windows
consumed less electricity compared to the homes that used single or double pane windows.
This explained that type of envelope and materials used also have an impact on the energy
consumption of the building.
The size of openings/fenestrations such as windows also contribute to higher energy
consumption (Hassan, et al., 2014). A research conducted by Centre for Environment
Technology and Development in Malaysia (CETDEM) indicated that the usage of air
conditioning system and refrigerator consume nearly 70% of the average building electricity
usage (Hassan and Al-Ashwal, 2015). Thus, the wider the size of openings of windows will
allow more natural ventilation, hence reducing the indoor temperature and less dependence on
air-conditioning system.

2.2.4. Occupant’s Behaviour

Among all factors listed previously, occupant’s behaviour is one of the significant factors that
have a big impact on energy consumption of existing building (Hong, 2014; Kelly, 2013) as
they occupied the buildings for some duration and interact with building energy use. The
occupants affect the building’s energy use directly and indirectly by operating buildings’
control devices such as by switch on/off lighting, building equipment, HVAC systems,
windows, shading devices and fans to set desirable indoor environment comfort in their daily
routine (Mahdavi, A., 2015; Gul and Patidar, 2015; Hong, T., 2014).
There have been many studies conducted to investigate how occupant’s behaviour
influence building’s energy performance (Hong, T., 2014; Fabi et al., 2011; Mahdavi &
Pröglhöf, 2009; Emery et al., 2006, Branco et al., 2004), however it is difficult to study the
occupant’s behaviour trend and pattern in consuming energy use. Predicting the impact that
human behaviour and energy efficiency measures may have on existing building’s energy
consumption is complex as energy consumption in existing building is affected by the income,
age group, lifestyle and behaviour of occupants as well as the physical characteristics of
buildings, orientation and location of the buildings and its surrounding environment (Kelly,
2013).

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Nevertheless, it is the manner of occupants who live in or temporarily use the building that
significantly affect energy consumption (Mahdavi, A., 2015). If users operate the buildings’
control devices without concern for energy that they are using, or the so-called rebound effect
of their act and these manners were repeated over time, this behaviour will surely give big
impact on the building’s energy consumption. Therefore, extensive measures on occupant’s
behaviour in operating buildings’ control devices must be taken seriously.

2.3. Energy Consumption in Malaysia

Key challenges to achieve sustainable development are how to tackle climate change and
reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (United Nations, 2007). Rapid economic and
development growth in Malaysia has dramatically increased demand in energy consumption,
which contributes to significant amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions (Ong et al., 2011; Bari et al., 2011). Malaysia’s building sector consists of
commercial, government, industrial facilities, and residential buildings including high-rise,
terraces and single dwellings, and in 2008, these building has consumed approximately 7,750
GWh of electricity. The demand for electricity is predicted to increase to about 18,947 MW in
2020 and 23,092 MW in 2030 (UNDP-JKR BSEEP Project Document).
Current growth in energy consumption is expected to significantly increase GHG
emissions; increase in new building construction of about 6 per cent per year; inefficient energy
utilization and increasing stock of electrical appliances in new and existing buildings (UNDP-
JKR BSEEP Project Document). Since the growth in energy consumption in buildings is higher
than other sector, this clearly gives strong reasons to address the situation comprehensively and
seek potential ways for improving energy performance in existing building in Malaysia.
Existing buildings in Malaysia comprise residential, offices, commercial, and industrial
facilities, which contribute over 40 per cent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission to the
environment (Zakaria et al., 2012). The GHG emission can be broken down into two types;
first, the direct emissions that come from combustion of fuels for heating and cooking; and,
second, emission that comes from the end use of electricity used to heat, cool, run electrical
equipment and provide power to buildings (Borja, 2016). Increment of GHG emission every
year also come from manufacturing process of construction materials and other products,
including the emission from transportation generated by human activities (Brown et al., 2005).
The greatest opportunity to reduce primary energy consumption lies within existing
building stock in Malaysia (Brooke, 2011), thus ameliorating the energy efficiency and
environmental performance of existing buildings will act as a crucial pace toward tackling
climate change. Nevertheless, decreasing energy consumption in Malaysian climate is not
solely dependent on changing one item alone (Chin, 2016). Reducing the energy consumption
in an existing building is not achieved by only changing the air conditioning system of the
building itself, but requires that all aspects of the building be addressed.

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Figure 2: Typical Energy Breakdown in a Building (Source: Tang and Chin, 2013)
Figure 2 above displays a clear understanding of the typical energy distribution in typical
office buildings in Malaysia. A study on the reformulation of the Malaysian Standard (MS)
1525, Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV) found that a chiller system used by building
contribute to most of the energy consumption (Tang and Chin, 2013), as the chiller is used to
remove heat from the building to ensure internal comfort for the user, followed by lighting
energy, small power energy and AHU fan energy. From the chart, although the energy
consumption of a building may differ as compared to other building, if no proper strategy is in
place to reduce the energy consumption, the percentage of energy will continue to rise.
As mentioned above, improving energy consumption by changing to energy efficient
appliances and equipment is one of the most cost-effective measures for reducing carbon
dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Shika et al., 2012). This clearly
calls for the building owner to retrofit their existing building by incorporating energy efficiency
measures and renewable energy technologies into the building.

2.4. Impact of Excessive Energy Consumption in Existing Building on Climate

Change
2.4.1. Increase in Carbon Footprint
A rise in carbon footprint of the existing building is the primary impact of unethical energy
usage. In urban areas, about 75 percent of the global total is accounted for by energy
consumption alone, and more than 80 percent of the total carbon emissions (Stern, 2007). In
addition, Huang et al. (2017) stated that the construction sector consumes over 40 percent of
the raw materials which contributes about 40 to 50 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions.
The presence of carbon emission in existing building is derived from building’s energy usage.
As a result of excessive energy consumption, the building sector contributes as much as
one third of greenhouse gas emissions (Mardiana & Riffat, 2015), primarily through the use of
fossil fuels during their operational phase. The carbon dioxide emissions from energy
consumption in buildings are derived from two sources, the direct emissions from on-site
combustion of fuels for heating and cooking and emissions from the end use of electricity
utilised to heat, cool and provide power to buildings (Mardiana & Riffat, 2015). The relation
between these two types of carbon dioxide emissions and building service demands will
increase significantly depending on their influencing factors such as human behaviour.

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2.4.2. Extreme Weather Events.

Building sector appears to be very vulnerable to climate change especially the challenge of
global warming. The impact of global warming includes increasing of extreme weather events
such as storms, droughts, flooding, earthquakes and urban heat island which indirectly threaten
the buildings (Yau & Hasbi, 2013). The impact of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere
contribute to the increasing level of global temperature and greenhouse gases, leading to
human-induced global warming effect. As a result, the number of extreme weather events,
global warming and climate change has been increasing for the last two decades (Tang & Tan,
2014). Global warming and climate change are the contemporary threats to ecosystem services
and biodiversity (Boon & Ahenkan, 2012), leading to a huge impact on the environment,
livelihood of communities and economies across the world.

2.4.3. Reduction in Energy Supply

With the increase in population, the supply and demand for energy has become critical.
Unethical behavior of wasting or overuse of energy will contribute to scarcity in energy supply.
This will require more energy to be generated to fulfil consumer demand. Over the long term,
the rise in demand will threaten our environment, for example trees and hills are being cut to
prepare for construction of hydro-electric dam.
Based on energy supply and demand statistics shown in Malaysia Energy Statistic
Handbook 2017, Malaysia is still able to enjoy energy reserve capacity with the increase of
renewable energy produced by our country. However, for long-term and short-term security of
Malaysia’s energy sources, it is important to sustain the energy sources in light for
inconsistency of future demand as the population growth is increasing and the instability of the
global economy (Energy Commission - Energy Malaysia Vol 12, 2017).

2.5. Retrofitting Existing Buildings

Retrofitting an existing building means adapting new technology or features to improve the
building functions and building efficiency through improvising the building elements as a way
to achieve sustainability. Retrofitting existing building is not new in construction industry as
the retrofit concept has been widely used by United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) together with World Heritage Convention (WHC) for the
past several years, providing several guidelines for retrofit works of historical building listed
under UNESCO World Heritage site (Tadeu et al., 2014). Retrofitting existing building is
considered as one approach in achieving sustainability in construction by upgrading energy
efficiency and improving environmental performance of the building or decreasing building
energy demand (Mohd Sood et al., 2013).
There is no standard definition of the term retrofit in the context of built environment,
however people often confuse retrofit term with ‘refurbishment’ and ‘renovation’. Richard
Hyde, in Sustainable Retrofitting of Commercial Buildings: Warm Climates (2013), has made
a clear distinction between retrofitting, refurbishment and renovation in the context of building
obsolescence. Richard defined refurbishment as “returning the building, or its systems, to their
original condition, addressing the forces of physical obsolescence” and renovation is defined
as taking refurbishment one step forward by integrating changes to physical parameters of the
building. Richard refers to retrofitting as process of replacing and upgrading systems and
technology in existing building to address its technological or environmental obsolescence. A
single project may also include all three elements of retrofit, refurbishment and renovation.
Eames et al., (2014) in Retrofit 2050: Critical Challenges for Urban Transitions, define
retrofit as providing something with component or features that are not fitted or installed during

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manufacture and construction process. Retrofit is a term that has been used in the built
environment to describe substantial physical changes at building level. The term retrofit is often
used in relation to installation of energy efficiency appliances or equipment and changes to
fabric of a building such as installation of new air conditioning system, lighting, insulation or
façade improvements. Retrofit concept is also widely used in upgrading historical building to
be more sustainable and up to date with current building legislation.
According to Wood (2006), retrofit is described as a building that has been adapted to a
new use, to reduce the operational energy and maximize the enduring benefit of the embodied
energy that is already incorporated in the ‘bricks and mortar’ of the structure. In Urban Land:
Building Retrofit magazine (2009), Doug Gatlin explained retrofit as any kind of upgrade at an
existing building that is wholly or partially occupied to improve energy and environmental
performance, reduce water use, and improve the comfort and quality of a space in terms of
natural light, air quality and noise. The retrofit work is done in a way to financially benefit the
owner over time.

Figure 3: Difference between Refurbishment, Renovation and Retrofit Definition

(Source: Che Husin, 2017; Hyde, et. al., 2013)
Retrofitting is more cost effective compared to new development as the owners/landlords
can continue to generate income from their properties and operate their building instead of
losing a few years of rental income if they redevelop the building/property (Singapore Building
and Construction Authority, 2010). Shika et al., (2012) mention that retrofitting existing
building offers the tenants’ improvement to build infrastructure through operation and
management practices that reduce utility cost and maintenance cost. Retrofitting the existing
building will result in reducing operational costs, help to attract tenants and gain a market edge.
Retrofitting first starts with energy audit and overall performance of the building to
establish the current cost of the building and identify opportunities for saving it by means of
retrofit. Retrofit concept has also been applied to protect existing building from losing its
significant culture, such as in historical buildings, and to protect the existing building from
severe damage cause by nature or the human activities (Cui et al., 2010). In Malaysia, retrofit
is still not widely taken into consideration by building owner. Malaysian government has
started implementing retrofit concept as part of the national sustainable agenda in reducing
energy consumption in existing building by retrofitting existing government buildings (KFM
Holdings Sdn Bhd News, 2016; Abdul Karim, 2010).

2.5.1. Inexpensive Retrofitting Measure

Research conducted by Azis et al., (2015) showed that the communities in Malaysia are aware
of the retrofit concept and are willing to retrofit their existing buildings. However, society today

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is more interested in purchasing new building and developers are focused on constructing new
green building rather than retrofitting the existing building. The reason is often restricted by
the availability of owner/tenant’s financial budget. Since investment decisions for energy
efficiency are quite complex, it hard for the building owner/tenants to decide and convince
themselves whether investment in retrofitting is worthwhile or not. Financial budget always
becomes the main constraint because the retrofit measures to be imposed may differ due to how
much energy the owner/tenant wants to reduce, and which retrofit measure is to be used to
ensure they get what they aimed for and to receive return of investment within short period of
time.
Hence, the attempt to retrofit existing building is not only focusing on reducing the global
energy consumption by existing building, it is also subject to the financial of building owner,
building characteristic, energy used by the building, and many more. Therefore, optimal
solution to tackle these issues is by proposing inexpensive retrofitting measures but at the same
time give more energy saving. Based on research conducted by Che Husin (2017), retrofit
measures that are being proposed by the green consultant during retrofitting are shown in
Figure 4. The main goal in retrofitting existing building is to create energy-efficient building
and to minimize energy consumption. In common practice, the green consultant often proposed
the cheapest retrofit option with the minimum/low payback period and with shorter
construction duration for retrofit (Che Husin, 2017).

Figure 4: Retrofit Option That Green Consultant Will Propose When Retrofitting
(Source: Che Husin, 2017)
Inexpensive is a subjective term. In retrofitting existing building, certain measures may
require high cost. However, the overall cost of retrofitting is related to the main reason why the
owner/tenants want to retrofit their building. The main retrofit options that green consultants
recommend, considering financial issues as the main barrier, are heating and cooling reduction
through implementation of passive design solution. Building envelope receives the majority of

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solar heat gain, thus contributes to heat island effect and increases cooling load.
Changing/upgrading building envelope to allow more natural ventilation and lighting are
highly endorsed by the green consultant (Che Husin, 2017) as it is the most sustainable and
efficient method to reduce heat gain within building and lower dependence on air conditioning
and artificial lighting usage.
One alternative to divert the solar heat gain is by using colored roofing materials that can
reflect sun’s radiation well and allow thermal emittance. Calculating Solar Reflectivity (R) and
Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of the roofing materials before retrofit installation is important
as roof received the most solar radiation (ACS Roofing, 2015). Through proper study on R and
SRI values, selection of roofing materials and the roof slope installation, the total solar
radiation penetration into the building and total solar reflectance can be measured. Therefore,
by installing materials with suitable R and SRI value within acceptable roof slope, the solar
heat gain into the building can be reduced. SRI is single value representing solar reflectance
and thermal emissivity, ranging from standard dark colour equal to 0 and bright colour equal
to 100. Green Building Index (GBI) recommends an SRI of more than 78 for low pitch roof
and more than 29 for steep pitch roof (IEN Consultants Sdn Bhd, 2017).
In addition to adding building insulation on the roof, shading system on the east and west
side of the building, and changing the window glass and type of blinds used is also most cost-
effective. Installing radiant barrier foil and polystyrene/mineral wool insulation can reflect
maximum heat and allow cool air intake flow through the attic to remove heat. In warm and
sunny climates like Malaysia, well-designed shading devices can dramatically minimize solar
heat gain penetration and allow more natural lighting quality to penetrate into building interiors
(Prowler D., 2016). In addition, changing internal layout of existing building to allow more
natural lighting and cross ventilation also contribute in reducing amount of energy consumed
by the occupants.
Integrating light shelves (for interior) and mirror light shelves (as façade) can also reduce
heat gain and at the same time can increase daylight penetration. Without the installation of
light shelves, direct sun can penetrate into the building resulting in areas near to the windows
to be much warmer and thereby consume more air-conditioning usage. The light shelves allow
only diffused light to enter the interior resulting in less heat coming from the sun are penetrating
into the building (IEN Consultants, 2017). Allowing more natural light to enter the building
will minimize the need to use lighting and lead to reduce energy consumption during daylight.

3. CASE STUDY: PERDANA PUTRA, PUTRAJAYA

3.1. Project Overview
In 2010, the Malaysian Government envisioned that Putrajaya, along with its neighbour city
Cyberjaya, would be the model for “green” cities in the future. In his speech to table the
Malaysian’s 10th Economic Plan the Prime Minister claimed that Putrajaya and Cyberjaya will
serve as flagship green townships. With the Malaysian Government taking the lead in
endorsing green building standards, Green Building Index (GBI), by enhancing energy
efficiency of existing government building starting with the Prime Minister Office itself, will
be taken as a showcase example of the successful implementation of energy efficiency through
retrofitting existing building (Smart City Business Institute, 2015).
The Malaysian Government owns more than 26,000 buildings with a total space area of
about 220 million m2. If a target of 30 percent energy savings is set for these buildings, which
is equivalent to 60 kWh/m2 per year, a reduction of 8.5 million tonnes of CO2 emission per
year can be subsequently achieved (Abdul Karim, 2010). Abdul Karim (2010), in his write up

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 Implementing Sustainability in Existing Building Through Retrofitting Measures

in Better Green for a Better Tomorrow, claimed that the statistical data shows average Building
Energy Index (BEI) for office building is between 200 and 300 kWh/m2 per year, and with the
implementation of energy saving programmes and retrofitting measures, Public Work
Department (PWD) targeted BEI of the retrofitted building will be between 100 and 150
kWh/m2 per year, which is lower than national average.
In line with the Prime Minister’s aim, PWD has taken progressive steps to improve energy
efficiency in existing government buildings by taking initiatives such as energy audits and
energy saving programs in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Putrajaya. The retrofitting
projects started in October 2011 and were completed in 2014 with the aim to reduce the
building’s energy consumption and to achieve 90 possible points in Green Building Index
(GBI), which will enable the Perdana Putra to achieve Platinum ranking in the category of Non-
Residential Existing Building (NREB) (Gillbert, 2013). The PMO building in Putrajaya is one
of the first government buildings to be retrofitted as energy-efficient (Abdul Karim, 2010).
This is a no-cost energy saving programme which has been carried out at the PMO to
encourage the private sector to be actively involved in investing for energy saving programme,
where PWD has taken steps to formulate an Energy Performance Contract (EPC). The first
Energy Performance Contract (EPC) planned for retrofitting contract is in the Prime Minister’s
office, Perdana Putra in Putrajaya. This project not only turned the office building into an
energy-efficient building, but also greatly contributed to make it gold-rated certified green in
existing building category.
For this project, KFM Holdings Sdn Bhd has been awarded as the main contractor to
execute and monitor the retrofitting project with total contract time of 20 years, and all the
retrofitting and maintenance costs were born by KFM Holdings Sdn Bhd within the contract
period (KFM Holdings Sdn Bhd News, 2016). In view of mechanical and electrical equipment
and systems being the biggest consumers of energy in any building operation, PWD has
embarked on retrofitting the PMO buildings with viable integration of green technology
equipment and fittings.
The structural design for Perdana Putra is influenced by Malay, Islamic and European
cultures such as Palladian and Neoclassicism. The building was designed by aQidea Architect
with inspiration from the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad (Prime
Minister Office, 2017). Construction began in 1997 and was completed by 1999, with
occupancy of 2,200 people (KFM Holdings Sdn Bhd News, 2016). Perdana Putra is a six-storey
building comprising Main Building, East and West Wing building, and houses the Prime
Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Office, Chief Secretary Office, Implementation
Coordination Unit, Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), National
Security Council etc. (Prime Minister Office, 2017; Shah, 2016).

3.2. Implementation of Sustainability in Perdana Putra Building and the

Achievements

3.2.1. Retrofitting Measures Implemented at Perdana Putra

The energy efficient retrofitting in Prime Minister Office, Perdana Putra started with energy
audit. During this stage, evaluation of current usage of energy consumption in the building,
energy consumption pattern is analysed. This process was followed by identification of factors
and problems that contribute to excessive energy consumption and from the result, the Energy
Service Company (ESCO) will come out with percentage of energy saving can be
accomplished and retrofit strategies that can be implemented (Che Husin, 2017). The
finalisation of which retrofit strategies are to be implemented is based on client’s requirement,

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 S.M. Che Husin, N.I. Mohd Zaki and M.K. Abu Husain

budget allocation and effectiveness of retrofit strategy in reducing energy consumption for
short-term period. Retrofit strategies integrated for PMO’s retrofit projects are summarized in
Figure 5.
Retrofitting usually involves replacing and upgrading the existing building systems and
technologies with more sustainable and energy efficient system that are not installed during
previous construction (US Energy Department, 2015). The most inexpensive retrofit strategy
that can be executed is by using passive design approach rather than active design approach.
The existing building of Perdana Putra is previously designed with a good approach of natural
lighting and building orientation (Shah, 2016). For the retrofit implementation, the client
requested to integrate both passive and active designs, but without any major changes on the
main structural part of the existing building.

Figure 5: Retrofit Strategies Implemented in Perdana Putra (Source: KFM Holding Sdn Bhd News,
2016)

3.2.2. Energy Consumption and Carbon Footprint Results

Table 1: Energy Consumption Comparison between 2010 (before Retrofit) and 2014 (after Retrofit)
(KFM Energy Study Data, 2014)
Before After Savings
(2010 Baseline) (2014, GBI Certification) (%)
Energy Intensity 138 kWh/m2/year 85 kWh/m2/year 38%
Annual Water Usage 133,614 m3 80,535 m3 40%
CO2 7,268,738 kg 4,884,908 kg 33%
Chilled Water 4,071,552 kWh 1,255,334 kWh 69%
Total Energy 13,435,744 kWh 9,031,253 kWh 33%
Table 1 shows the outcome of this energy saving programme resulted in significant saving
of more than 30 percent of energy consumption four years after the building had been
retrofitted. The energy saving percentage is estimated to increase over the years. Carbon
emission reduction can be referred in Figure 6. The result after 4 years of retrofitting measures
shows that the carbon emission reduction is more than 50 percent.

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 Implementing Sustainability in Existing Building Through Retrofitting Measures

Figure 6: CO2 Consumption in KG at Prime Minister Office

(Source: KFM Holdings Sdn Bhd News, 2016)
This achievement shows that by retrofitting existing building, overall energy consumption
can be realised without requiring too much investment. Moreover, the savings from reduction
of energy consumption will be reimbursed and it will sufficient enough to finance full cost of
the project (KFM Holdings Sdn Bhd, 2016). It simply proves that energy savings can be
realised even on existing buildings without much capital investment. Based on the lessons
learned from this programme, Public Works Department (PWD) has developed an energy
management system which will act as a platform in managing energy efficient buildings
(Suruhanjaya Tenaga, 2014). From another perspective, this can serve as a good example to
create awareness and to encourage more building owners to retrofit their existing building.

3.2.3. Green Building Index Assessment

As an office building, Perdana Putra falls under Non-Residential Existing Building (NREB).
The assessment criteria are divided into six parts – Energy Efficiency (EE), Indoor
Environmental Quality (EQ), Sustainable Site Planning and Management (SM), Materials and
Resources (MR), Water Efficiency (WE) and Innovation (IN). The sub-assessment criteria and
maximum point need for each part is different based on building category. KFM Holdings Sdn
Bhd aims to achieve 90 possible points in Green Building Index (GBI), but after the assessment
has been done by Malaysia Green Building Confederation (MGBC), Perdana Putra only
managed to get 88 GBI points out of 100 points, thus enabling it to be certified as Platinum
status. The details on GBI assessment score are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. GBI Score Summary (KFM Holding Sdn Bhd News, 2016)
SUMMARY OF FINAL SCORE
PART ITEM POINT SCORED
1 Energy Efficiency (EE) 35/38
2 Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) 14/21
3 Sustainable Site Planning and Management (SM) 10/10
4 Materials and Resources (MR) 8/9
5 Water Efficiency (WE) 11/12
6 Innovation (IN) 10/10
TOTAL SCORE 88/100

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 S.M. Che Husin, N.I. Mohd Zaki and M.K. Abu Husain

For energy efficiency, the retrofit strategies implemented are the replacement of existing
lighting features into Light-emitting Diode (LED) lights for indoor and outdoor, Building
Management System, Air Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation System (ACMV) repair
and upgrade, using Energy Efficiency Motors with highest band (EFF1 Motors), Smart Infra
System, Energy Management System, Lighting Management System and 650kWp Solar Power
System – Sustainable Power Sources as shown in Figure 7. The installation of Sustainable
Power Sources generated to support the consumption of energy use of the building are the main
reason the point scored is 35 out of 38 GBI points (KFM Holding Sdn Bhd News, 2016).

Figure 7: The Implementation of LED lights, Building Management System,

And Solar Power System (Source: KFM Holding Sdn Bhd)
The total score for Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) is 14 out of 21 GBI points. The
score is achieved by providing good quality performance for indoor quality through installation
of electrostatic filter, ultra violet germicidal irradiation, light shelf for daylighting reflection,
manual and motorised blinds for glare control, pre-Air Handling Unit (pre-AHU), low volatile
organic compound (VOC) and zero urea formaldehyde materials, provision of no smoking area,
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) sensors and thermal comfort control (KFM Holding Sdn Bhd News,
2016) as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Installation of Electrostatic Filter, Ultra Violet Germicidal Irradiation,

Light Shelf and Manual/Motorised Blinds (Source: KFM Holding Sdn Bhd)

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 Implementing Sustainability in Existing Building Through Retrofitting Measures

PMO’s building obtained the full 10 GBI points for Sustainable and Site Planning and
Management (SM) by providing prioritised green and carpool parking, greenery application on
landscape design, roof garden, pest management, and erosion control management. Location
of Perdana Putra, which is near to access of public transportation and community open spaces,
also makes it easier to score full points. As for Material and Resources (MR), the score is 8 out
of 9 GBI points achieved from the promotion of using recycle content material for ceiling,
clean agent, sustainable timber and through sustainable purchasing policy – buying materials
from local suppliers, transportation of goods via ground instead of air and using products from
recycle materials (KFM Holding Sdn Bhd News, 2016).
Retrofit strategies to improve water consumption are achieved through recycling ablution water,
using water efficient plumbing and sanitary fitting, rain water harvesting, irrigation system and water
leakage detection system, where 11 out of 12 GBI points are scored under Water Efficiency (WE).
PMO’s received 10 out of 10 GBI points for Innovation (IN) through the installation of solar fiber light
system for daylighting, mini wetland for natural filter and habitat, composite machine for production of
compost from organic waste, condense water recovery, heat pipes and central vacuum system (KFM
Holding Sdn Bhd News, 2016).

6. CONCLUSION
Energy consumption by existing building stocks present in Malaysia is often overlooked by
many. The potential to mitigate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy
consumption in existing built environment is important. The importance of greening existing
buildings lies in two key facts: existing buildings contribute to majority of the energy-using
building stock at any given time, which have huge impacts not only on energy and water use,
but on the tenants/users who occupy the building. Long-term investments in energy efficiency
and water savings are the economic drivers for greening existing buildings (Yu et al., 2011).
Undertaking a green retrofit measure on existing building brings both tangible and intangible
benefits to the owner and tenants for sustainable future of the existing building.
Among the benefits are long-term cost savings for energy consumption; increase
occupant’s comfort, wellbeing and productivity through better thermal comfort and indoor air
improvisation; lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and carbon footprint of the existing
building; and most importantly, retrofitting extends the building life cycles. Integrating
inexpensive retrofit option and selecting passive design solution is the most encouraging
measure in retrofitting existing building. The improvements in daily behaviour do not just have
environmental benefits. The simple act of conserving energy and improved energy-efficiency
saves significant money for inhabitants in terms of energy bill, improves indoor air quality,
produce better working environment and give added value for the building itself by integrating
green technology.
Malaysian Government initiative in promoting and encouraging construction industry
players to invest in retrofitting existing building is by achieving the Platinum certificates in the
Malaysian green building ranking, Green Building Index (GBI) for retrofitting project of
PMO’s office. This is a good approach taken by the Malaysian Government to lead by example
on sustainability practices for the industry to improve energy efficiency by retrofitting the
Government building and has set a standard that it is not possible for existing building to
improve its energy efficiency through retrofitting. Energy efficiency retrofit of Prime Minister
Office (PMO), Perdana Putra is a platform for the Malaysian Government to build awareness,
develop knowledge and generate skills, expertise of energy efficiency in transition towards
achieving sustainable development of Malaysia.
To conclude, the achievements of retrofit implementation in PMO will create more
opportunities and establish a standard to be followed by other building owner/tenants to retrofit

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 S.M. Che Husin, N.I. Mohd Zaki and M.K. Abu Husain

their existing building and contribute towards reducing energy consumption as well as reducing
the national carbon emission. By retrofitting, the PMO building not only improves its energy
consumption but also maximises building’s life of cycle, improves building’s facilities
management, provides better working environment and most importantly, the workers can
learn about good practice of energy savings and start changing their unethical habits of wasting
energy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The paper is financially supported by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Malaysia) [grant
number: R.K130000.7740.4J312, Q.K130000.3556.07G08 and Q.K130000.2540.17H99] and
Ministry of Education, Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS)
[grant number: R.K130000.7856.5F021]

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