The 2022 strain on Switzerland’s electrical grid significantly heightened interest in electricity monitoring and optimization, reinforcing the growing trend of Building Energy Management System (BEMS) implementation. While BEMS are often installed as entirely new systems, this paper presents a case study of a retrofit of an electricity consumption monitoring infrastructure within an engineering school during the winter of 2022–2023. We developed and integrated a custom monitoring solution that provides electricity consumption data to users across campus and serve as an educational resource. Built on top of existing equipment, this case highlights the novel challenges encountered in dealing with old, poorly documented, and unmaintained infrastructure, while also showing the potential of retrofitted BEMS to promote sustainability. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating BEMS with facility management processes and highlight emerging challenges related to the interoperability and durability of smart building infrastructure.
