The Smart Readiness Indicator is currently being officially tested in 13 EU countries: Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Spain. In each of the 13 front-running countries, the national administration is supported by one or several local technical partners and by the SRI Support Team. Feedback from national test phases will allow adjusting the implementation modalities of the scheme. Other Member States are encouraged to join the move and test the SRI on their territories.
In addition, projects funded under the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme support EU countries in rolling out the SRI.
The Austrian test phase is led by the Austrian Institute of Construction Engineering (OIB) and the Austrian Climate Ministry (BMK), with the involvement of AEE Intec and of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) who are conducting the assessments. The focus of the test phase is to benchmark the SRI methodology against other methods developed in Austria with a focus on energy flexibility. A large number of different building typologies are examined and assessed on the basis of detailed documented buildings from Austrian regions or the federal government.
The Belgium (Flanders) test phase is led by the Energy and Climate Agency of Flanders (VEKA). The main focus is on training requirements for SRI assessors, and the link with existing EPC schemes. The test phase is currently in preparation, and roll-out is expected from 2025 onwards.
The test phase is supervised by the Ministry of Energy with the support of LIFE projects The SRI-ENACT project, through its Bulgarian partner Black Sea Energy Research Centre, will provide the national adaptation of the SRI methodology, SRI assessment toolkit, SRI auditor training courses, and testing of 130 buildings. The Smart Square project, through its Bulgarian partner EnEffect, will support the assessment of the payback of the SRI improvement measures, capacity building, and dissemination of information.
The SRI test phase in Croatia is led by the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets and is supported by the non-profit scientific institution Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar (EIHP). The test phase is conducted thanks to the recently selected LIFE projects. The test phase aims at exploring the potentials and opportunities for SRI in the Croatian context and at contributing to the overall development and refinement of the SRI calculation methodology.
The SRI test phase in Cyprus is led by the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry. The technical work is undertaken by a cluster of four partners, consisting of Cyprus Energy Agency, Frederick University, CyRIC Ltd, and Euphyia Tech Ltd, all participating in LIFE projects. Together, they aim to adapt the SRI technical framework to Cyprus’ specificities. Requirements will be laid down on the qualification and accreditation of SRI experts and conditions proposed for an independent control system for SRI certificates. The SRI of a sample of 20 representative buildings will be assessed. A bigger sample of 100 buildings will be used for verification of the results. The Smart-Ready-Go SRI calculator will be used for the assessment. The results will be validated with the use of the SRI2MARKET SRI calculator.
The Czech test phase is led by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO), with support from the Department of Environmental and Building Services Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU). During the test phase the common SRI methodology is applied, and depending on the sensitivity of the results, some adaptations may be undertaken in a later phase. SRI evaluations are conducted by the team of the University. The test phase should last around one year.
The Danish test phase was led by the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) in cooperation with the Danish Technological Institute (DTI). The purpose was to investigate potentials and opportunities for the SRI in a Danish context. Assessors from DTI conducted the SRI assessment for 25-30 buildings, including offices, dwellings, multi-family homes, educational institutions – old and new, and with different energy supplies.
The SRI test phase in Finland is led by the Ministry of the Environment with the support of MOTIVA, a company dedicated to promoting and supporting sustainable development. External assessors are going to be trained in order to conduct SRI assessments for a target of 150 buildings of different types. The test phase should last around two years, comprising a social impact assessment and an evaluation of the suitability of the scheme to Finland.
The French test phase is led by the Ministry for Ecological Transition with the support of CEREMA. SRI assessments are conducted by independent third parties: EPC assessors are recruited and trained for that purpose by CEREMA, who in turn delivers formal SRI certificates. The target is to assess at least 30 buildings as a first step.
- From the official test phase:
- From the SMARTBUILT4EU project: Information webinar, April 2022, Presentation and recording
The test phase investigates the potential of the SRI and how the methodology should be adapted to the German real estate industry. In addition, a digital infrastructure for the simple calculation of the SRI is to be created and tested. The test phase incorporates the research project of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (initial results available at https://smartreadinessindicator.com/). The project includes leading companies in the German real estate industry and aims at non-residential and multi-family buildings. Practical experience as well as relevant studies regarding in particular the deployment of smart grids and smart metering systems will be incorporated.
- From the SMARTBUILT4EU project: Information webinar, September 2022, Presentation and recording
- From the SMARTBUILT4EU project: Information webinar, February 2023, Recording
The test phase is carried out as a part of the currently implemented national R&D project “The Energy Transition Observatory as the instrument for supporting the socio-economic development of Poland”. The project is financed by the Gospostrateg programme of the National Centre for Research and Development. The project involves the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology and the University of Science and Technology AGH-UST Kraków, among others. Different SRI weighting factors will be tested for various building types before a final configuration of the SRI technical framework is adopted. Afterward, SRI training material will be developed and tested with a small group of assessors; online training will then be offered to a larger group. The evaluation of ca. 50+ buildings is considered as a part of the training and certification of assessors.
The SRI test phase in Slovenia is led by the Ministry for Environment, Climate and Energy with the support of Jožef Stefan Institute (Energy Efficiency Centre) and Goriška Local Energy Agency, in cooperation with the Horizon 2020 project TIMEPAC. A sample of at least 50 representative buildings will be assessed, covering different typologies, ages and uses. Assessments will be conducted by personnel from Jožef Stefan Institute and Goriška Local Energy Agency, and by external assessors to be trained through dedicated workshops. The test phase should last two years.
The SRI test phase in Spain is led by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge with the support of CENER - National Renewable Energy Centre within the context of the LIFE project SRI2MARKET. The test phase will include training sessions for EPC assessors to become SRI experts, based on the SRI2MARKET e-learning platform and training programme. SRI assessments will be conducted on a sample of at least 50 buildings across Spain. The test phase should last 21 months.
- From the SMARTBUILT4EU project: Information webinar, June 2022, Presentation and recording