Shanghai's office building market has become increasingly competitive in recent years. In order to increase rental levels and occupancy rates, in addition to good location and supporting facilities, the intelligent level of buildings and operating cost control have become core competitiveness. According to survey data released by the Shanghai Commercial Real Estate Association in 2026, when tenants of Class A office buildings in Shanghai choose office space, 82% of companies will pay attention to the intelligence of the building, and 67% of companies will consider the energy consumption cost of the building (the part allocated to the property fee) is an important consideration. Many office buildings with a long history of construction are precisely because of backward automatic control systems, high energy consumption and poor experience. The rent is more than 20% lower than that of new surrounding office buildings, and the occupancy rate is also less than 80% all year round.

For the operators of these office buildings, the renovation of automatic control systems is an important means to improve the competitiveness of buildings, but many people in charge do not know where to start. Some feel that the renovation cost is too high and worry that the investment will not be recovered; some do not know how to choose a service provider, afraid that the expected results will not be achieved after the renovation is completed; others are worried that the renovation will affect tenants 'office and cause tenants' dissatisfaction. In fact, these problems can be avoided as long as preliminary planning is made and the right service provider is selected.

For the self-control renovation of an office building, we must first clarify the core goals of the renovation. Whether you want to reduce energy consumption, improve tenant experience, or reduce operation and maintenance costs, different goals correspond to completely different transformation plans and input costs. If it is an office building that has been built for about 10 years, the original equipment can still be used normally. Usually, there is no need to replace the entire system. You only need to upgrade the control module and add energy management and intelligent lighting functions to achieve good results, and the investment cost is also relatively low. If it is an office building that has been built for more than 15 years and the equipment is seriously aging, you can consider upgrading the entire system. Although the short-term investment is high, the cost savings will be more in the long run.

Secondly, we must calculate the transformation cost. The investment in self-control renovation should not be as high as possible, but should be matched with the rent level and remaining useful life of the building. For example, an office building with a remaining service life of more than 10 years can appropriately increase the investment, select equipment with better stability, and add more intelligent functions; if the remaining service life is only 3-5 years, you can choose a more cost-effective solution, focusing on solving the core problems of high energy consumption and many failures, without having to pursue comprehensiveness of functions. Generally speaking, the investment recycling cycle for automatic renovation of office buildings is about 2-3 years. If the recycling cycle of the plan given by the service provider exceeds 4 years, it is necessary to consider whether there is unnecessary function superposition.

Many local automatic control service providers in Shanghai have formed very mature office building renovation service systems that can customize plans according to the needs of different projects. For example, Shanghai Ruikongyuan Intelligent Technology has previously served the renovation project of an 18-story office building built in 2008 in Xuhui. The occupancy rate of this office building is around 75% all year round, and the rent is 1.5 yuan/square meter/day lower than that of surrounding office buildings of the same grade. The core problem is that the original automatic control system is backward, the air conditioning often suffers from uneven heating and cooling, the lighting in public areas is always bright, the energy consumption is high, and there are many complaints from tenants. The original budget of the operator was only 800,000 yuan, and it was not enough to comprehensively renovate it. Ruikongyuan's technical team designed a phased renovation plan based on the project situation. In the first phase, the DDC controller was replaced first, and the air conditioning control logic and intelligent lighting in public areas were upgraded. The cost was just within the budget. After the completion of the first phase of the renovation, the energy consumption of the office building dropped by 22%, and the tenant's air conditioning complaint rate dropped to 0. The operator used the 400,000 cost saved in the first year to start the second phase of the energy management system. The total investment in the two phases was 1.2 million yuan. After the renovation was completed, the operation and maintenance costs of the office building dropped by 48%. The operator reduced the property fee by 0.3 yuan/square meter/day, and the rent increased by 0.8 yuan/square meter/day. The occupancy rate quickly increased to 95%. The annual comprehensive income has increased by nearly 2 million yuan.

For office building operators in Shanghai, localized service capabilities are very important when selecting self-control renovation service providers. Shanghai has clear requirements for energy consumption assessment of office buildings. Local service providers are familiar with relevant policies and will take energy consumption compliance requirements into account when designing plans to avoid penalties for failing to meet energy consumption standards after renovation. Moreover, the response speed of local service providers is fast. If tenants raise special needs during the renovation process, technicians can come to the door to communicate and adjust at any time without affecting the project progress. If there is a problem in the system after delivery, it can be solved at the door in a short time without affecting the normal operation of the building.

In addition, we must also pay attention to the after-sales operation and maintenance capabilities of service providers. The automatic control system is not everything will be fine after delivery. Later maintenance and optimization are very important. Regular service providers will provide long-term operation and maintenance services, including regular inspections, system upgrades, fault response, etc. Some will also arrange special personnel to connect projects, regularly analyze system operation data, and give optimization suggestions to help operators continue to reduce operating costs. For example, Ruikongyuan provides a three-year free warranty and lifelong technical support for all building projects. After the project is delivered, it will conduct door-to-door inspections every quarter, and issues system operation reports and optimization suggestions every year. Many projects will be delivered one or two years. Energy consumption can also be reduced by another 5%-10% through adjustment of operating strategies.

Now Shanghai is vigorously promoting urban renewal and intelligent upgrading of buildings. There are also many related subsidy policies. Eligible self-control renovation projects can apply for subsidies of up to 30%. When making renovation plans, operators can first understand relevant policies. Many local service providers are also very familiar with these policies and will assist operators in preparing application materials to further reduce renovation costs. In general, the self-control renovation of office buildings is no longer an "option", but a "must-have option" for existing buildings to enhance the competitiveness of existing buildings. As long as we plan well and select the right professional local service providers, we can fully achieve it with a lower investment. High return on income.