Heat smarter
Gary Lintott, CEO of ecosync, examines whether smart retrofits are the answer to the heating crisis.
Heating is one of the biggest costs to non-residential estates. And boards are grappling with mounting pressure: high prices, decarbonisation deadlines and zero downtime for retrofits.
With the backdrop of volatile energy markets and tightening regulation, facilities teams are being asked to achieve far more with far less, all while avoiding disruption and capital-heavy work.
So what are the deadlines?
• Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), commercial properties must reach EPC ‘C’ by 2027 and EPC ‘B’ by 2030.
• The Sixth Carbon Budget commits the UK to reducing emissions by 78% by 2035.
The cost and environmental impact of heating have long posed a challenge for building operators. Too often, the default answer has been large-scale retrofits that require a full rip-out and replacement of existing systems. The smarter path forward lies in targeted, technology-led retrofits, or ‘smart retrofits’, which can deliver gains faster and at a lower cost.
Shifting from rip and replace to smart retrofits
In 2025 a ‘rip and replace’ approach is outdated and, most importantly, it’s not always appropriate. The industry is shifting its focus from replacement to optimisation.
Where efficiency was once defined by installing new boilers or plant rooms, it now means layering technology-driven hardware and software onto existing infrastructure, to deliver greater energy savings with less disruption and at a lower cost.
For many estates, especially older or heritage buildings, a complete replacement is unrealistic. Strict preservation requirements and budget constraints often prevent intrusive intervention. This should not define whether or not your building can access the tools needed to be more energy efficient and meet regulatory requirements. Capital constraints are a defining factor in how these challenges are addressed – and the old idea that you have to spend big to save big no longer holds true.
Now, smart retrofits are offering a practical alternative: unintrusive, quick to install, data-driven upgrades that make existing systems work harder and more efficiently using data, artificial intelligence (AI) and occupancy analytics. Facilities managers (FMs) adopting this approach are experiencing measurable ROI significantly faster than those using traditional projects – achieving energy savings without major disruption. New cross-sector data highlights just how transformative these upgrades can be.
Breaking down the data
ecosync’s recent release of cross-sector data and analysis demonstrates that smart, low disruption heating upgrades can cut energy consumption dramatically across a broad portfolio, illustrating how effective the ‘smart retrofit’ shift can be.
Sector by sector savings:
• Hotels lead the way with 44% average heating energy savings – reflecting efforts to protect margins and meet rising guest expectations
• Heritage buildings are saving 43% – using radiator-level control to avoid invasive retrofitting
• Schools are achieving 43% savings, with smart controls that reduce waste without compromising classroom comfort
• Universities are seeing 36% savings, a timely shift as student expectations around sustainability rise
• Public Sector buildings – including NHS sites – are saving 33%, with zero-downtime solutions that work within operational constraints
With smart retrofits these sectors can use data to monitor utilisation in real-time, meaning facilities managers are no longer heating empty rooms.
These figures show how meaningful change can be achieved without large-scale overhauls. In hotels, the high variability of roomoccupancy means smart controls are significantly reducing waste.
In heritage buildings, where invasive works are restricted, non-disruptive retrofits provide a viable route to carbon reduction. Smart retrofits are unique in the way that they meet the building where it is.
How the controls work
Smart retrofits enhance existing heating infrastructure with sensors, data analytics and AI optimisation. ecosync uses maintenance free, cleantech, Smart Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs), sensors that monitor temperature, humidity, CO2 and occupancy, generating 2.5 million data points every two minutes. This real-time information feed is integral. AI optimisation engines enable the system to learn the building’s patterns – analysing usage, occupancy and weather data to predict demand and fine-tune output automatically.
Instead of relying on fixed schedules, the system only heats occupied spaces and adapts dynamically to changing conditions. The result is consistent comfort, lower emissions and significantly reduced operating costs – all without replacing boilers or pipework.
These systems work with legacy infrastructure and can be installed during routine maintenance, giving FMs efficiency gains without the disruption of a full replacement. This means proven delivery without compromising daily operations:
• Hotels without disturbing a single guest
• Heritage buildings without harming a single brick
• Schools and universities without disrupting a single lesson
• Public Sector buildings without interrupting the work day
Compliance, carbon and ROI
Today, smart retrofits are no longer just about cost reduction – they’re compliance enablers and strategic investments. As regulation tightens and sustainability reporting becomes more stringent, there is a real need for being able to optimise energy usage. Thanks to solutions like ecosync’s AI-driven approach, smart retrofits generate great ROI with a typical payback period within two to three years, while providing live carbon data supporting ESG and MEES reporting at the push of a button. This provides facilities teams and sustainability directors with verifiable Scope 1 and 2 emissions data, enabling clear progress toward Net Zero goals.
Smart retrofits are also built to be carbon conscious, using energy-harvesting wireless controllers that require no batteries or ongoing maintenance, systems can run efficiently for over a decade without any intervention.
For finance directors, that combination – measurable carbon reduction, predictable savings and compliance-readiness, low cost entry – represents an opportunity they can’t ignore.
Conclusion
The journey to Net Zero is complex, especially in real estate, and no single technology will solve it entirely. But smart retrofits represent a scalable, pragmatic step towards allowing organisations to reduce emissions now while laying the groundwork for future upgrades.
As facilities management continues to evolve, data will increasingly sit at the heart of decision-making. The ability to predict, optimise and verify performance in real-time is transforming how buildings are heated and managed.
The industry is moving from reactive maintenance to predictive optimisation – from static systems to intelligent, self-adjusting networks.
In 2025 and beyond, the challenge isn’t heating less – it’s heating smarter.
