BUSINESS
OPTIMISING BUILDINGS
FOR LOW-OCCUPANCY
By Devan Pillay , Director : Buildings at Schneider Electric
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to thousands of empty buildings , as offices , malls and other commercial spaces have shut down .
Even as some facilities , including malls , begin to reopen , they are operating at drastically reduced occupancy and are likely to do so for some time yet . In the UAE , all malls must maintain an occupancy ceiling of 30 % of the mall , retail outlet or restaurant ’ s common and gross leasable area .
Many other buildings , including hotels and offices , are not likely to return to normal operations for a considerable length of time . Occupancy levels in Dubai ’ s hotels dropped by almost 30 % year-on-year for the first week of March amid coronavirus concerns , according to data and analytics company STR .
For building managers , facilities managers , owners and operators , having buildings at low or zero occupancy for extended periods of time , means a significant change in operating requirements , and a need to adjust building systems accordingly .
To secure a successful restart , now is the time to plan for operational optimisation , to validate a property ' s business model and to adjust the operating concept for long-term value creation potential .
From re-purposing a property to adapting new strategies and approaches to secure a strong comeback for a business assets once the industry restarts , stakeholders are considering a multitude of things from operational changes to strict hygiene measures in line with the government ’ s efforts .
The process of switching to low occupancy operations should start with a checklist of all major HVAC and building automation assets , including chillers , air handlers , boilers , fan coils , packaged terminal air conditioners , and rooftop units . One needs to know which of these key components are in operation , drawing energy and managing environmental conditions .
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Creative Commons .
Any reducedoccupancy plans need to allow for the remaining staff complement of a building .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I October 2021 47