Retrofit

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Please improve this article if you can. (October 2006)

Retrofitting refers to the addition of new technology or features to older systems. An example of this is car customizing, where older vehicles are fitted with new technologies; power windows, cruise control, remote keyless systems, electric fuel pumps, etc.

1 Building Construction
2 Manufacturing
3 Environmental Management
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Building Construction

Retrofitting may also refer to the process of strengthening older buildings in order to make them earthquake resistant (See also Seismic retrofit).

[edit] Manufacturing

Principally retrofitting describes the measures taken in the manufacturing industry to allow new or updated parts to be fitted to old or outdated assemblies. The production of retrofit parts is necessary in manufacture when the design of a large assembly is changed or revised. If, after the changes have been implemented, a customer (with an old version of the product) wishes to purchase a replacement part then retrofit parts and assembling techniques will have to be used so that the revised parts will fit suitably onto the older assembly.

[edit] Environmental Management

The term is also used in the field of environmental engineering, particularly to describe construction or renovation projects on previously-built sites, to improve water quality in nearby streams, rivers or lakes. Sites with extensive impervious surfaces (such as parking lots and rooftops) can generate high levels of stormwater runoff during rainstorms, and this can damage nearby water bodies. These problems can often be addressed by installing new stormwater management features on the site, a process that practitioners refer to as stormwater retrofitting. Stormwater management practices used in retrofit projects include rain gardens, permeable paving and green roofs.^[1] (See also stream restoration.)