In industrial and commercial buildings, improving energy efficiency is essential to reduce costs, but also to limit environmental impact and meet sustainability challenges.
For a company or a business, however, the critical issue becomes energy retrofitting without forcing productivity to stop.
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Production shutdowns, in fact, lead to economic losses on the one hand, but also to organisational and managerial impacts, because they force a review of the structural setup of the workforce as well.
From this perspective, passive retrofit solutions such as applying solar control films or thermo-reflective coatings act on the building envelope without requiring plant shutdowns and provide measurable results in a short time.
In this in-depth article, we analyse the advantages of passive solutions like these from the perspective of an installation without shutdowns and extremely rapid when compared to other alternatives.
Production interruptions are very costly
A production stop in a manufacturing industry corresponds to a significant financial outlay, but without imagining such a scenario, it is enough to think about the loss of any activity when an interruption—more or less unexpected—is required.
Unplanned stops occur, for example, when managing damage to the roof or skylights where humidity or, worse, water infiltrates requires immediate intervention, up to situations in which replacing an air-conditioning system, for example, even if planned and scheduled, forces normal activities to stop.
In general, therefore, the loss of productivity generates tangible direct and indirect costs. Staff inactivity, downstream delays in production, and the possibility of failing to meet agreed delivery times produce financial waste and image damage that, on the reputational side, are almost even more burdensome.
Installing passive solutions does not require shutdowns
The solution to structural interventions that require plant shutdowns lies in low-impact alternatives. Among the alternatives, applying passive solutions to the building envelope proves to be an ideal choice not only from a sustainability standpoint, but also in terms of operations and protecting production continuity.
The reference technologies are solar control films and thermo-reflective coatings: while the former are applied to glass, windows, and transparent building surfaces, the coatings are applied to roofs, roof coverings, and skylights.
The characteristics of both can be summarised in three points:
- they do not require invasive structural modifications to the building;
- they involve a rapid installation that does not require shutdowns;
- they deliver energy benefits that are immediately measurable.
Let’s take a closer look.
Installing solar control films
The operating principle of solar control films is very simple: providing a filter for incoming solar radiation without compromising brightness. At the core are technologically advanced materials that turn these adhesive films into solutions capable of instantly reducing the thermal load caused by solar radiation.
Operationally, installing these passively acting films is fast and not invasive at all. Serisolar offers a selection of the highest-performing products made by reliable and recognised brands and manages installation directly with its own technicians: highly specialised and qualified staff who proceed without dismantling the frames.
This means, as mentioned, that the installation of solar control films does not involve any change to normal business operations and does not require any shutdown in production departments.
The result in terms of energy efficiency and indoor climate comfort is immediate: the amount of heat passing through surfaces is reduced, lowering indoor temperature and consequently decreasing cooling demand during the warmer months.
In addition, blocking most UV rays improves visual comfort for people and helps preserve products, goods, and furnishings over time.
Applying thermo-reflective coatings
Using a thermo-reflective coating makes it possible to transform a simple roof into a cool roof, that is, a resource that can prove to be a decisive passive agent in the energy retrofit of a building.
These products are coatings with high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance, polymer- and reflective-pigment-based solutions applied on roof surfaces made of different materials. By reflecting most solar rays rather than absorbing them, they allow the roof surface temperature to remain lower, preventing heat from being transferred indoors.
Work to apply these coatings takes place outdoors and, for this reason, can be carried out while activities inside the building continue as normal. For these solutions as well, Serisolar has chosen not only certified, guaranteed quality products, but also highly specialised teams that can carry out installation to a high standard in a limited timeframe.
Similarly to solar control films, in this case too the analysis of energy results is equally positive: surface overheating is instantly reduced, consequently limiting indoor thermal load and therefore cooling demand.
Furthermore, one of the most relevant benefits concerns roof protection: shielding UV rays and controlling excessive thermal variations reduce thermal expansion phenomena in materials, preserving them from micro-cracks and premature ageing.
In the case of roofs where solar panels are installed, applying these coatings helps improve module yield, which is intrinsically linked to temperature.
Optimising energy efficiency while ensuring operational continuity
Passive energy-efficiency solutions to retrofit industrial and commercial buildings can therefore ensure, in addition to the required result, an installation and application approach that does not undermine operational continuity.
Intervening with invasive structural modifications that impose shutdowns, therefore, is not an effective solution because, in addition to being a costly choice in itself in economic terms (insulation works, replacement of roofs or fixtures, or the installation of new air-conditioning systems, for example, are decidedly expensive options), they indirectly burden costs through loss of productivity and, ultimately, do not always truly contain the promised energy consumption.
Passive retrofit solutions such as installing solar control films or applying thermo-reflective coatings, instead, make environments more comfortable, reduce demand and energy expenditure for summer air-conditioning systems, and do not affect activities or production continuity.
Serisolar’s role: the partner for sustainable growth
Serisolar offers high-end passive solutions to help companies improve their environmental impact by making the workplace healthier and more comfortable for people without creating any limitation in production.
The first step towards sustainable growth is consultancy: Serisolar offers companies tailored pathways to carry out effective energy retrofit interventions for industrial and commercial buildings. Improving the energy balance and enhancing the value of properties is part of the solution.
Our method starts with a preliminary technical-energy analysis that provides a detailed picture of the situation of each building and the opportunities to improve it.
If you are looking for a partner with whom to build a reliable strategy to improve efficiency, sustainability, and comfort in your company, choose to do so without compromising production continuity.
Contact us to receive a free visit from one of our technicians and begin a true sustainable revolution.
