GEN – 942.00. The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018/884 introduces a “Smart Readiness Indicator”. It will measure the buildings’ capacity to use new technologies and electronic systems to adapt to the needs of the consumer, optimise its operation and interact with the grid. The European Commission has asked a consortium to develop the SRI. The report by the consortium was published at the end of August 2018. The European Commission will launch a new study on the practical implementation of the SRI by the end of 2018.
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) 2018/884
The article 8 of the EPBD states that the Commission shall, by 31 December 2019, adopt a delegated act supplementing this Directive by establishing an optional common Union scheme for rating the smart readiness of buildings. The rating shall be based on an assessment of the capabilities of a building or building unit to adapt its operation to the needs of the occupant and the grid and to improve its energy efficiency and overall performance. This optional common Union scheme for rating the smart readiness of buildings shall:
- Establish the definition of the smart readiness indicator, and
- Establish a methodology by which it is to be calculated
Development of the SRI
Between February 2017 and August 2018, a consortium composed of Vito, Energy Ville, Ecofys, Waide and Offis has been developing the SRI.
The methodology for the SRI follows a check-list approach, in which it will aggregate the smart-ready services present in a building and the various impacts such as energy savings, comfort and flexibility towards the grid that can be expected. The study lists 112 smart-ready services, of which the consortium proposes 52 servicesto be streamlined. For each of the services there are several functionality levels defined. The selected services are considered to have a high impact. The catalogue in the annex to the report lists and rates (in terms of levels) the SRI impacts for various domains including: heating, cooling, domestic hot water, ventilation, demand-side management, monitoring and control (and electric vehicles).
The SRI has a modular framework, which allows for flexibility towards fine-tuning the SRI in the future. The smart-readiness score of the building is calculated as a percentage that shows the proximity of the building from maximum smart readiness.
Next steps
Un autumn, the Commission will launch a second study on how the SRI would be implemented in practice. This study should finish before the end of 2019.
Recommended Actions
It is not yet clear if and which Member States will implement the optional SRI in their transposition of the revised EPBD by February/March 2020.
Manufacturers are recommended to consider if the SRI would be useful when position their products on the market.
Related documents and links
All related documents and articles can be found in the respective sections in the right sidebar.
- SRI study website – see report and annex A-service catalogue: https://smartreadinessindicator.eu/milestones-and-documents
- EPBD 2018/884: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1529394717053&uri=CELEX:32018L0844
- EPBD Commission website
- National EPBD implementations – 2016 update
- GEN – 903.00 – Update EPBD
