This article was taken from the January 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
When London was being built, energy efficiency wasn't a massive design factor. But with buildings now accounting for 80 percent of the capital's carbon emissions, structures in London and beyond are getting a green upgrade. Retrofitting is the refurbishment of old buildings with smart systems for energy use, such as PC shutdown controls, insulation and draftproofing, photovoltaics (generating electrical power by converting solar radiation), solar water-heating or combined heat and power units.
This year, a retrofit at the second-highest building in the world, Taiwan's Taipei 101, earned it the top green building rating of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum.
The Empire State Building's retrofit should slash its energy use by 38 percent when complete next year, with five percent coming from window replacement alone. The Obama administration estimates that retrofitting buildings could save US businesses $40 billion (£25 billion) annually on energy bills, and the Clinton Climate Initiative is backing retrofit projects from Mumbai to Melbourne.
London Mayor Boris Johnson's RE:FIT programme is modding public buildings, which
account for ten percent of the city's emissions. But won't a retrofit mean that the look of cities stays frozen, creating "urban museums" like Venice or Edinburgh? Gordon Gill, partner at AS+GG, the architecture practice behind the Chicago Central Area DeCarbonization Plan, thinks not. "Cities will always evolve," he says. "But in strategic ways."
Three world leading retrofits Daley Center, Chicago -- A $7 million (£4.52 million) project is spearheading city-wide Windy City retrofits
Ilford Fire Station -- The first building to take part in London's RE:FIT programme
Inorbit Mall, Mumbai -- Post-retrofit, this megamall's energy use will fall by 17 percent
Explore more: Big Ideas For 2012
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
