The smart readiness indicator (SRI) is a Commission initiative under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive that measures a building’s ability to use smart technologies. These technologies aid in decarbonisation, while also offering more comfortable and efficient living environments. The ‘smartness’ of a building refers to its ability to sense, interpret, communicate and actively respond in an efficient manner to changing conditions in relation to the operation of technical building systems, the external environment (including energy grids) and the demands from building occupants.
The SRI rates the smart readiness of buildings (or building units) in their capability to perform 3 key functionalities:
- optimise energy efficiency and overall in-use performance
- adapt their operation to the needs of the occupant
- adapt to signals from the grid (for example energy flexibility)
The SRI aims to raise awareness of the benefits of smart building technologies, such as building automation and electronic monitoring of heating, hot water, ventilation, lighting and other building systems. The implementation of the SRI framework supports technological innovation in the construction sector and creates an incentive for the integration of cutting-edge smart technologies in buildings.
SRI rating
An SRI assessment consists of evaluating the performance of smart-ready services categorised in 9 technical domains: heating, cooling, domestic hot water, ventilation, lighting, dynamic building envelope, electricity, electric vehicle charging, monitoring and control.
The performance of each service is assessed against 7 desired impacts of smart buildings: energy efficiency, maintenance and fault prediction, comfort, convenience, health, well-being and accessibility, information to occupants, energy flexibility and storage.
The result of the smart-ready assessment is aggregated into an overall SRI class and SRI score, which expresses how close the building is to maximum smart readiness. In addition, specific scores on each of the 3 key functionalities of building smartness are calculated.
SRI legal and technical frameworks
The SRI legal framework is defined by the 2018 revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2155 and its annexes. It consists of the structure and principles of the SRI calculation methodology.
According to the 2024 recast of the EPBD (Article 15), the SRI is an optional scheme, meaning EU countries can freely decide whether or not they want to test and/or implement it. However, by 30 June 2026, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the testing and implementation of the SRI on the basis of the available results of the national test phases and other relevant projects. Taking into account the outcome of that report, the Commission shall, by 30 June 2027, adopt a delegated act requiring the application of the SRI to non-residential buildings with an effective rated output for HVAC systems of over 290 kW.
In parallel, minimum BACS requirements must be implemented: by the end of 2024 for systems >290 kW and by 2029 for systems >70 kW. These provisions mark a significant step towards smarter, more efficient and flexible, and healthier buildings across the EU, supporting both decarbonisation and digitalisation goals
By contrast, the SRI technical framework must be provided by national authorities implementing the SRI. Therefore, each country must define a catalogue of smart-ready services, functionality levels and all parameters used to aggregate the calculations into a single score. However, a generic technical framework, which was designed after extensive Europe-wide stakeholder consultations, will be provided upon completion of a form and acceptance of the related terms and conditions.
Documents
- Implementing regulation on optional scheme for rating smart readiness of buildings C(2020) 6929 | Annex
- Delegated regulation on optional scheme for rating smart readiness of buildings C(2020) 6930 | Annex
- Directive (EU) 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings (recast)
Related links
- Video: introduction to the SRI (January 2022)