Retrofit Process Research Articles

Exploring key risks of energy retrofit of residential buildings in China with transaction cost considerations

Energy retrofit of residential buildings is an approach to reduce worldwide energy consumption. Residential energy retrofitting in China mostly focuses on multi-owner residential buildings with composite ownership that dozens of private homeowners own their apartment and jointly own the common parts of a building. The implementation of residential energy retrofit faces many risks, causing the slow retrofit process in the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) zone of China. Transaction cost theory (TCT) is conducive to enrich an in-depth understanding of risk inventories in the energy retrofitting context. This paper aims to explore the key risks in retrofit projects of residential buildings in the HSCW zone with transaction costs (TCs) considerations, in order to provide the direction for effective risk management. First, based on the theoretical risks with TCs considerations, interviews were conducted to adjust the risk list and to connect these risks with stakeholders and stages. Second, a questionnaire survey was made based on two parameters of risk probability and severity, and then ten top risks were chosen as key risks through both a risk matrix and Borda count. The results show that most of the key risks are associated with homeowners and contractors, involving retrofit awareness, cooperation performance, opportunism, professional expertise, construction management, safety management, and maintenance, of which most occur at the stage of on-site construction. Information cost is the largest source of TCs relevant to these key risks and is mainly borne by the government and homeowners. TCs can also provide a lens for the retrofitting in other countries to understand risks, and the decrease in information costs contributes to effective risk management both in China and in the international context.

A methodological approach for a home occupants centred web tool to support buildings energy retrofitting process

This paper presents a methodological approach to develop a user-oriented web tool to support the early stage of the decision making process for energy retrofitting of residential real estates. The tool mixes a simple analytical Urban Building Energy Model (UBEM) to user-oriented feedback interfaces to simulate the retrofitting potential of the residential units. The AUREE tool will be based on a Web – GIS GeoBlog portal with customized interfaces aimed to share the knowledge on urban building heritage and promote participation of stakeholders of the urban community. There are many literature exempla of guidelines or quality protocols on the topic of energy efficiency specified to particular types of buildings or focused on a territorial area, but these are generally not integrated into a geographically based tool. Moreover, the AUREE methodology aims to set interfaces that could use the portal users’ feedback to update the content of the portal itself. After touch on the theoretical context, a summary of the AUREE project is presented, and then the paper focuses on the structures of algorithms and tools adopted on the residential users’ interfaces. The interface mixes the results of an engineering Urban Building Energy Model based on local archetypal approach and standard energy calculation (series UNI 11300 - TS), with participative data provided via user-interactive interfaces to obtain customized retrofitting scenarios and suggestions. At the end of the paper, the main critical aspects and the further step of the research project are pointed

Techno-Economic Assessment of Energy Retrofitting Educational Buildings: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia

The buildings and construction sector accounts for the majority of the energy consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). For a sustainable future, energy consumption in the sector should be reduced and existing buildings need to be energy retrofitted. A number of studies present energy retrofitting of residential buildings in KSA; however, there is a lack of studies presenting retrofitting of educational buildings. Thus, the aim of this study is to adopt a BIM-based approach to assess Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) in a prototypical Government-built educational building in Dammam, KSA. The methodology consists of six prime steps, (1) case study data collection, (2) energy auditing, (3) proposing ECMs, (4) BIM model development, (5) energy assessment, and (6) economic assessment. The energy audit revealed several inefficiencies in the building construction and operation and four ECMs were proposed and simulated. It was found that annual energy consumption can be reduced by 22.7% in the educational building, and the investment for the four ECMs is paid back in 2.7 years only. Therefore, implementing the proposed ECMs is a viable option to energy retrofit such educational buildings in the country, and the presented BIM-based approach can be adopted to efficiently conduct the energy retrofitting process.

A machine learning-based time-dependent shear strength model for corroded reinforced concrete beams

Shear strength of corroded reinforced concrete (CRC) beams is a key concern in the design and/or retrofit processes for an RC structure during its life-cycle. In this paper, we develop a machine learning (ML)-based approach for predicting the residual shear strength of CRC beams at different service times. To achieve this goal, we collected 158 shear tests of CRC beams and adopted one of the most representative ensemble ML algorithms, i.e., the gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT), to establish a predictive model for the shear strength. Six dimensionless variables indicating geometric dimensions, material properties, reinforcing details and the corrosion extent of the beam are set as the inputs, while the shear strength is set as the output. 70% of data are used as training set and the remaining 30% is used to evaluate the model performance. Results indicate that the model produces excellent predictions with an average R2 over 0.9. Moreover, five empirical shear strength models for CRC beams are also used for verifying the proposed GBRT model, which demonstrates that the proposed model has a distinct superior performance. Finally, a mechanical model is used to calculate the corrosion extent of reinforcements and thus a time-dependent shear strength prediction approach for CRC beams is developed based on the ML-based model. The proposed time-dependent prediction model is capable to provide the shear strength of CRC beams with any given service time.

Using applied retrofitting techniques for integration of raw material circulation between industrial plants

New industrial processes must include circular integration and waste usage as raw materials, so that the environment can be preserved. Retrofit processes rely on material recycling to use waste raw material, to minimize emissions, and to produce sustainable products. This paper explores decision-making problems during sustainable raw material selection for effective existing production. Flue gas and municipal solid wastes are proposed for use as sustainable raw materials, thus minimizing waste, emissions, and fossil fuel consumption. I aim to develop a retrofitted applied technique to use raw material integration between plants. This technique provides several environmental benefits:•adapting existing processes operating with well-known technologies to use waste as raw materials•determining optimal and sustainable production rates and raw material consumption•including raw material circular integration between.The retrofitted applied technique was tested on existing methanol, formalin and urea formaldehyde resin processes, with replacement of natural gas with flue gas and municipal solid wastes as a raw material, generating an additional profit of 7.8 MEUR/a. Using flue gas could reduce CO2 emissions by 1.9 106 kmol/a and thus contribute to environment protection.

Opportunities and barriers to business engagement in the UK domestic retrofit sector: An industry perspective

This paper investigates the opportunities and barriers to business engagement in the UK domestic retrofit sector. There are approximately 28 million UK dwellings accounting for 30% of UK total energy consumption. Almost all of the existing housing stock will require some form of retrofit in order to meet the UK Government’s Net Zero emissions target by 2050. However, adoption has been much lower than required. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with industry professionals to investigate the key barriers and opportunities for businesses in the retrofit market. The results suggest that there is significant opportunity for businesses, but engagement has been suppressed by three main categories of barriers: (1) Those that cause lack of consumer demand; (2) Those that constrain retrofit projects, limiting their volume and scalability; (3) Those resulting from a lack of government will or direction. Business opportunity for retrofit was seen to extend globally, with substantial market growth possible. The paper suggests potential roles and solutions key stakeholders could take to achieve the volume of retrofit required. The findings should be of interest to all stakeholders who wish to overcome the multitude of barriers to business engagement in the retrofit sector and realise the potential opportunities. Practical application: This study aims to understand the barriers preventing the large-scale adoption of domestic retrofit in the UK in order to identify avenues for increasing business engagement in the sector. Potential areas believed to present significant opportunity for businesses when engaging in, developing and upscaling the retrofit process and solutions are highlighted. This paper should be of interest to building industry professionals already or wanting to undertake domestic retrofit works in future. The paper also gathers the views of current building industry professionals through semi-structured interviews providing an industry centric assessment of the sector’s challenges and possible solutions.

Spontaneous mainstream anammox in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant with hybrid sludge retention time in a temperate zone of China.

Spontaneous anammox bacteria enrichment at mainstream conditions was reported in a full-scale Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in a temperate zone of China. The mainstream anammox was observed after WWTP process retrofit, which constructed a hybrid sludge retention time (SRT) system by providing moving carriers in the anaerobic/anoxic tank and was initially designed to enhance the denitrification process in a conventional anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process. The hybrid SRT system achieved 86.0±4.6% total nitrogen (TN) removal via combined mainstream anammox and conventional denitrification. Autotrophic denitrification via mainstream anammox was confirmed by various shreds of evidence including high-throughput sequencing, specific anammox activity test, and 15 N isotopic tracing. Long-term anammox bacteria existence in the biofilm of the carrier in anoxic zones was detected in a much higher relative abundance compared with other spots. The contribution of anammox activity to TN removal was estimated at around 20%-30%. The reasons leading to spontaneous anammox enrichment were mainly attributed to the carriers for slow-growing bacteria growth and dissolved oxygen gradient in the anoxic tank (caused by intermittent aeration) for nitrite production. The insights of this full-scale case study provide important perspectives for future mainstream anammox application, and also the design of an energy-neutral WWTP process. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Spontaneous mainstream anammox in a full-scale WWTP after its retrofit in a temperate zone of China was reported. Anammox bacteria enrichment and long-term stability on moving carriers at mainstream conditions was achieved by modified hybrid SRT system. The hybrid SRT system achieve stable nitrogen removal even in cold winter and high BOD/N situation by combining mainstream anammox with conventional denitrification. Long term full-scale operation demonstrated excellent nitrogen removal with about 20%-30% contribution of mainstream anammox. This full-scale case study provided perspectives for future optimizing mainstream anammox application, and also energy-neutral WWTP process design.

Dynamic Energy Modelling as an Alternative Approach for Reducing Performance Gaps in Retrofitted Schools in Denmark

When considering that over 80% of buildings in Denmark were built before the 1980′s, a holistic energy retrofitting of the existing building stock is a major milestone to attain the energy and environmental targets of the country. In this work, a case study of three public schools is considered for post-retrofit process evaluation. The three schools were heavily retrofitted by September 2018 with energy conservation and improvement measures that were implemented targeting both the building envelope and various energy systems. A technical evaluation of the energy retrofit process in the schools was carried out, when considering one year of operation after the completion of the retrofitting work. Actual data from the heating and electricity meters in the schools were collected and compared with the pre-retrofit design numbers which rely majorly on static tabulated numbers for savings evaluation. It was shown that the retrofit design numbers largely overestimate the attained savings, where the average performance gap between the expected and real numbers for the three schools is around 61% and 136% for annual heating and electricity savings, respectively. On the other hand, an alternative approach was proposed where calibrated dynamic energy performance models, which were developed for the three schools in EnergyPlus, were used to simulate the impact of implementing the retrofit measures. It was shown that implementing this approach could predict much better the impacts of the retrofit process with an average gap of around 17% for heating savings and 21% for electricity savings. Based on the post-retrofit process evaluation in the three schools, it was concluded that using dynamic model simulations has the potential of lowering the performance gap between the promised and real savings when compared to static tabulated approaches, although the savings are still generally over-estimated in both approaches.

Evaluating the potential energy savings of retrofitting low-rise suburban dwellings towards the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard in a hot summer/cold winter region of China

This paper considers the potential heating and cooling energy savings from retrofitting to the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard a low-rise suburban dwelling in the southern Chinese town of Huilong, which has a hot summer/cold winter climate. An existing residential building in Huilong was chosen as a case study and a baseline digital model was created with the dynamic thermal simulation software DesignBuilder. The model was validated using 12 months of air temperature and relative humidity measurements from the building. The virtual retrofitting process of the baseline model involved insulating the envelope, improving the airtightness and adopting a high efficiency mechanical ventilation heat recovery system. It was more difficult to reach the EnerPHit cooling energy demand criterion than the heating target, and so additional passive cooling from shading and natural ventilation were adopted to finally achieve the EnerPHit standard. The final simulation results suggest that the EnerPHit standard for energy was successfully achieved, with a 90% heating energy demand reduction (down to 14.9 kWh/m2a), and a 70% cooling energy demand (down to 12.6 kWh/m2a), compared to the dwelling’s baseline values.

Eco-efficiency in early design decisions: A multimethodology approach

Eco-efficiency is a key concept encompassing economic and environmental aspects to promote a more efficient use of resources and lower emissions. An eco-efficiency perspective in the design of products and services is thus essential in the pursuit of sustainability. This article proposes a novel decision-support methodological approach to assess the environmental impacts and costs in early design stages, aimed at providing informed recommendations to designers, manufacturers and decision-makers. This multimethodology approach integrates a streamlined life-cycle environmental and cost assessment with a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that derives eco-efficiency ratios and compares alternative designs, without the need to subjectively weigh the different environmental and cost life-cycle metrics. A linear regression model is then used to indicate the most influential decision variables. This approach was applied to a retrofit process of a historic residential building located in Southern Europe. The metrics used to assess the design parameters are: climate change, acidification, eutrophication, non-renewable primary energy, and net present value. A sensitivity analysis on the decarbonization of the electricity mix was also performed. The multimethodology offers valuable guidance to allow decision-makers to progressively specify the decision variables in an iterative way, using robust methods allowing for the statistical validation of results. The case study revealed robust empirical results for building retrofits in Southern European climates, indicating that the variables that most impact eco-efficiency (in both short and long-term) are roof insulation thickness and material followed by exterior wall insulation material. After three variables specification, the average eco-efficiency always increased, with higher gains obtained for the scenarios with the current electricity mix (22–25% increase) and more modest gains obtained for the electricity decarbonization scenarios (8–15% increase).

A machine-learning-based approach to predict residential annual space heating and cooling loads considering occupant behaviour

Energy consumption for space heating and cooling typically accounts for more than 40% of residential household energy consumption. An accurate and fast prediction of space heating and cooling loads aids energy conservation and carbon emission reduction by relieving the simulation burden for optimisation design, which consider various building characteristics combinations. This study aims to develop machine learning based load prediction model for residential building, five machine-learning models have been utilised for the prediction of residential building space heating and cooling load intensities, with occupant behaviour innovatively accounted as predictor variable. Their prediction performances are compared with each other. The five machine-learning models used in this study are linear kernel support vector regression, polynomial kernel support vector regression, Gaussian radial basis function kernel support vector regression, linear regression, and artificial neural networks. The results indicate that the Gaussian radial basis function kernel support vector regression is the best-performing model, with training time of less than 35s as well as less than 4% normalised mean absolute error and normalised root-mean-square error for both cooling and heating load prediction. The sample size of training and validation set for Gaussian radial basis function kernel support vector regression model is suggested as 200 samples. A data-driven machine-learning-based prediction model is an alternative to complex simulation tools in aiding the decision making of both building design and retrofit processes.

Developing a Feature Extraction of Existing Structures Using an Ambient Vibration Test

The paper aims to extract the dynamic properties of existing structures without utilizing the analytical models. The ambient vibration testing could be used on any type of frame such as concrete, steel and masonry to investigate the structural vulnerability. The method could be the first stage and necessarily for the retrofit process. To achieve this aim, the ambient vibration testing can also be employed. The experimental data obtained from the method can be used to monitor the health, evaluating, and damage detection structures at present. The achieved data can be compared in future with the recorded signals at different times. So, the ambient vibration test was carried out on the building of Imam Hossein Hospital at Mashhad. Then, its dynamic characteristics of the acceleration records are obtained by using Data Acquisition System with three accelerometers in two perpendicular coordinates. The method is more accurate and practical compare with analytical models of the existing buildings. The ambient vibration test prevents of several points such as destructive testing or may irreparable damage to the building as well as high cost. Even, the ambient vibration test maybe required for every couple of decayed, when noticed of any changes in the condition of buildings after construction. These type of changes could be quality of concrete or welding or some changes in the location of walls that can be affected the dynamic specifications of the building. The method provides real lateral load pattern and actual modes that can evaluate existing condition of the building compare with the time of construction.

An open source analysis framework for large-scale building energy modeling

Full integration of building energy modelling into the design and retrofit process has long been a goal of building scientists and practitioners. However, significant barriers still exist. Among them are the lack of available: (1) configurable technology stacks for performing both small- and large-scale analyses, (2) different classes of algorithms compatible with common design workflows, and (3) analysis tools for effectively visualizing large-scale simulation results. This article discusses the OpenStudio® Analysis Framework: a scalable analysis framework for building energy modelling that was developed to overcome the three barriers listed above. The framework is open-source and scalable to facilitate wider adoption and has a clearly defined application programming interface upon which other applications can be built. It runs on high-performance computing systems, within cloud infrastructure, and on laptops, and uses a common workflow to enable different classes of algorithms. Lessons learned from previous development efforts are also discussed.

Ambitious deep energy retrofits of buildings to accelerate the 1.5°C energy transition in Canada

Scientists advise limiting global warming to 1.5°C with substantial actions by 2030. Our viewpoint argues that climate response strategies in Canada have underemphasized and underestimated the potential contribution deep energy retrofits can make to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, leading to inadequate responses in the building sector, and that Canada can (and should) be ambitious with building retrofits over the next decade. GHG savings from building retrofits can be realized more quickly than GHG reductions from other sectors, and either deliver net cost savings or are cost‐effective when compared to other mitigation measures. Retrofits can also provide social and economic benefits, such as improved health and comfort, and lower energy costs. This paper reviews energy use and building retrofits in Canada and argues the following should be implemented: (1) focus innovation on deep energy retrofit processes, not singular retrofit actions; (2) maximize both social and environmental benefits; (3) improve data gathering and availability for analysis and delivery; (4) innovate for a process of decisions and to avoid “dropouts” during the retrofit process; and (5) focus innovation on business models that maximize benefits.

Isothermal torrefaction kinetics for sewage sludge pretreatment

Torrefaction of sewage sludge, a by-product from waste water treatment plants, has been receiving increased attentions in terms of sustainable sludge treatment, energy recovery and possibility to mitigate the environmental impacts. Torrefied sewage sludge is recognized as a better solid fuel than the dry sewage sludge, and it is also beneficial for subsequent thermochemical processes. In this study, sewage sludge was subjected to different torrefaction conditions in a thermogravimetric analyzer. The thermogravimetric data were then simulated using a two-consecutive reaction model to reproduce the mass losses during torrefaction. The obtained results from the torrefaction of the non-lignocellulosic biomass are also compared with other lignocellulosic biomass including a softwood and a hardwood. The findings from this study reveal that the non-lignocellulosic biomass is less thermally resistant and degrades much faster than the lignocellulosic biomass during the first stage of torrefaction. Moreover, the solid yield from the sewage sludge torrefaction at temperatures less than 280 °C is lower than that from the woody biomass torrefaction. However, this trend is inverted when the torrefaction temperature attains 280 °C and higher. The results obtained are useful for new design or retrofit of the sewage sludge torrefaction processes.

An Extended Grid Diagram for Heat Exchanger Network Retrofit Considering Heat Exchanger Types

Heat exchanger network (HEN) retrofit is a vital task in the process design to improve energy savings. Various types of heat exchangers such as shell and tube, double-pipe, compact plate, and spiral tube have their working temperature ranges and costs. Selecting suitable types of heat exchangers according to their temperature ranges and costs is a crucial aspect of industrial implementation. However, considering the type of heat exchangers in the HEN retrofit process is rarely seen in previous publications. This issue can be solved by the proposed Shifted Retrofit Thermodynamic Grid Diagram with the Shifted Temperature Range of Heat Exchangers (SRTGD-STR). The temperature ranges of six widely used heat exchanger types are coupled in the grid diagram. This diagram enables the visualisation of identifying the potential retrofit plan of HEN with heat-exchanger type selection. The retrofit design aims to minimise utility cost and capital cost. An illustrative example and a case study are presented to show the effectiveness of the method.

Impact of Office Modernization on Environmental Satisfaction: A Naturalistic Field Study

A case study was undertaken on one floor of a multi-floor office building in Seattle, WA. Its aim was to offer a straight-forward example for facilities managers, administrators, and researchers alike wishing to perform systematic, naturalistic, mixed-methods research in office spaces that have recently been retrofitted. Changes were made to the floor’s layout, and to the size of employees’ workspaces. New sound-making technology and a modern lighting framework were added. Objective measurements of lighting, acoustics, and indoor air quality were taken and an online questionnaire was distributed to staff to afford subjective measurements of their perceptions about the previous and new open-plan settings. Items concerning satisfaction with workspace layout, size, lighting, acoustics, air quality, and level of input into the retrofit process were asked. After the new space had been used for 1.5 months, occupants reported being more satisfied, in general, than they recalled being in the original setting. The size of personal workspaces and a sense of privacy were especially important to employees. Despite overhead lighting illuminance levels being below recommended industry standards, occupants were not dissatisfied with light levels. The sound masking system was iteratively commissioned based on negative occupant feedback, resulting in purposely setting some areas to exceed or fall short of acoustical performance guidelines; indoor air quality remained unchanged. Differences in quantitative and qualitative findings highlight the importance of gathering self-reported information from occupants in several ways and exploring them carefully to better understand why environmental satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) exists. Employees’ sense of environmental control remained a prominent theme in the data, supporting existing studies in the field of environmental psychology. While perceptions of control did not improve after the retrofit, occupants’ responses about the level of input they had into the retrofit process correlated significantly and positively with their perceptions of environmental satisfaction after its completion. The nuanced findings from this case study’s customized approach to measuring objective environmental stimuli, along with occupants’ environmental perceptions, add to a growing body of literature merging social scientific methodologies with technical environmental assessments for practical use by decision-makers working to satisfy employee preferences.

The loosening control of social housing: creating a holistic retrofit system for an ageing population through the lens of governmentality

With social housing providing accommodation to the most vulnerable individuals within society it is recognised as a key priority area which has the potential to deliver holistic integration across a range of service providers. A need is emerging to examine the nexus between the energy, housing, health and social care sectors to understand how these separate but interlinked policy agendas are integrated in practice. Presented are the findings of interviews conducted with 24 key stakeholders under a thematic analysis, exploring the key themes and prevalent trends which shape the challenges to creating a holistic retrofit system within social housing for the improved wellbeing of older people, through the lens of governmentality. The analysis revealed that the ideological barriers presented prevent a holistic retrofit process and inhibit the potential to create successful collaboration within the healthy ageing agenda. The retrofit of domestic housing is centred around the concept of sustainability; however, the ideological prioritisation of economic considerations over people has created an increased pressure on resources, favouring ease and cost cutting over communication, collaboration, and efficiency. Significant change must occur within governance and organisational structures; increasing flexibility and alliances, creating a viable means of interaction to create solutions and improve implementation.

Multi-criteria assessment approach for a residential building retrofit in Norway

This paper presents a multi-criteria assessment approach for a wide range of energy efficient measures and their combinations applied for a residential building retrofit in Norway. A number of passive, active and renewable energy efficient measures (EEMs) have been selected and defined. Based on the level of energy saving potentials, these EEMs have been combined into 18 retrofit combination packages (COMBs) and grouped into various retrofit levels (Moderate Retrofit-I, II, III and Extensive Retrofit). The annual primary energy consumptions (heating, hot water and electricity) for the proposed combination packages were simulated in IESVE building energy simulation software. This is then followed by two levels of assessments: i) the comprehensive assessments of the key retrofit priorities including primary energy reduction, global costs, payback period and the carbon emission reduction and ii) social assessment with the aim to represent various stakeholders’ views on the selected COMBs using a metric of weighting factors. Based on this, a multi-criteria assessment approach featuring a novel ranking factor (EEES) taking into account of energy, economic, environmental and social aspects during retrofit process was adopted. This approach quantifies different stakeholders’ perspectives on the proposed COMBs, which could enable various stakeholders’ involvement in the retrofit decision making process. It was concluded that COMB 05 and 06, which include only 2–3 passive and active EEMs have been ranked and chosen as the most favourable retrofit solutions, with EEES value equalled to 25.6 from various stakeholders’ perspectives. The impacts of changing renewable energy prices and PV generated feed-in tariff rates on the global costs, carbon reductions and primary energy consumptions of the proposed COMBs, which have rarely been analysed in literature, are numerically investigated in this research. Such renewable EEMs which are greatly recommended by the European Commission, are expected to gain further support from national level government renewable incentives. Therefore, it is envisaged that in the long term, Extensive Retrofits incorporating mostly renewable EEMs could become more affordable and cost effective.

Cyber-physical production systems retrofitting in context of industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is the new industrial revolution involving the introduction of new technologies in the industrial field. However, changing the technological level of an outdated industry is not a simple task. By retrofitting all old equipment into new equipment in industries, the retrofitting concept emerges as a rapid and low-cost solution, aimed at reusing existing equipment, with the addition of new technologies. However, retrofitting changes according to the type and model of industrial equipment, making it challenging to upgrade industrial equipment to Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS). In this paper, the standardization of the retrofitting process to transform old equipment into a CPPS is presented. The standardization is done with the support of a platform that has features to work independently of the model or type of equipment. To implement the platform, we define the requirements, components, and technologies necessary to retrofit industrial equipment. The entire process is based on Reference Architectural Model for Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) a widespread architecture of Industry 4.0. With the retrofitting platform based on RAMI 4.0, makes consistent the process of upgrading industrial equipment, providing Industry 4.0 functionality. A prototype with an industrial robotic arm was implemented to validate the process and the retrofitting platform. The results show the benefits of the CPPS Retrofitting process in industrial equipment.