Smart retrofitting for existing buildings: State of the art and future research directions

Abstract

Transforming ordinary buildings into smart building (SB)s, considered as ‘smart retrofitting (SR)’, requires retrofit works that involve smart technology applications. Given the limited knowledge about the SR concept, a systematic literature review was conducted using a mixed methods approach. Following the ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)’ framework, which is a well-recognized comprehensive reporting guideline for systematic reviews, SR-related literature was first identified from ‘Scopus’ and ‘Web of Science’. A bibliometric analysis of the identified literature revealed that the past research predominantly focused on energy efficiency and occupant comfort while social and legal issues were underexplored. A further, qualitative review of the shortlisted literature unveiled the SR research gaps and six future research areas: (1) smart retrofit performance evaluation, (2) SR applications for building envelope optimization, (3) renewable energy integration through SR applications, (4) SR applications for demand side management, (5) stakeholder engagement in SR, and (6) planning for effective SR implementation. Outcomes synthesized from this study include a framework consolidating the review findings and a mapping exhibiting the nexus of future research directions, which serve to facilitate and catalyze expected efforts for realizing SBs.