Smart Readiness Indicator

In this newsletter edition, you will find :

• an opportunity to watch again the 2nd SRI platform plenary meeting;
• a new SRI factsheet released;
• some of the key findings from the SRI certificates design online survey.

We invite you to give a look at the SRI website which has been reorganised for a better user experience: it gives you access to the basics to understand what is the SRI, an overview of the SRI ongoing test phases, stakeholders events and news, some of the most frequently asked questions about the indicator, as well as links to useful implementation tools.

We always welcome your comments and questions (contact us at support@smartreadinessindicator.eu), and we also take the opportunity of this newsletter to wish you all a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.

In case you missed the event, it is possible to watch it again here. Presentations as well as a report of the event are also accessible in the CIRCABC shared folder dedicated to SRI which is here.

The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) platform contributes to the promotion of the SRI and related best practices, acting as an exchange forum. Through its plenary meetings, it brings together all interested stakeholders and EU countries to discuss technical, regulatory and implementation aspects of the SRI.

This second plenary meeting was an opportunity to present the work achieved up to now by the SRI support team, and to provide an update on the ongoing test phases since 3 additional EU countries are now engaged in SRI testing (Croatia, Czech Republic, and Finland). The discussions of this second meeting were also focused on the SRI in EU policy, particularly regarding the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive recast proposal. In addition, this meeting introduced new LIFE projects which will contribute to the roll-out of the SRI.

The factsheet related to the Heating technical domain has just been released. The energy used for heating and cooling in buildings and industry accounts for 50% of the EU's annual energy consumption. By making the sector smarter, more efficient and sustainable, energy imports and dependency will fall, costs will be cut, and emissions will be reduced.

Smart heating control systems can act for instance on temperature set points and schedules. Some advanced systems implement algorithms and artificial intelligence to learn from user habits. They interact with other parameters such as windows openings and room occupancy to minimise energy waste.

All SRI factsheets as well as additional resources are available on the SRI Implementation tools web page.

Figure: examples of SRI certificates design options which were presented in the online survey

In terms of key findings, it can be concluded that the preferred certificate design would include:

• the overall SRI score
• the SRI class (which is determined from the building’s overall SRI score on a seven-grade scale e.g. A to G)
• the SRI scores, expressed as percentage values, for the three key functionalities
• the SRI scores, expressed as percentage values, for each of the seven impact criteria
• the matrix of SRI scores by technical domain and impact criteria

Practically, it seems best to provide the matrix, and the SRI scores, expressed as percentage values, for each of the 7 impact criteria in the same manner. While it is preferable if additional information can be presented on connectivity, interoperability, cybersecurity of systems and data protection it is not essential. Provision of this information could also be facilitated through webpages accessed by a QR code or link on the certificate. It is preferable to provide information on what the SRI functionalities are and how the scores are determined; however, for pragmatic reasons (to avoid an excessive certificate length) this is likely to best be done through webpages accessed by a QR code or link on the certificate. It is also preferable to provide recommendations on how to improve the smart readiness of the building or building unit; however, for pragmatic reasons (to avoid an excessive certificate length) this is likely to best be done through webpages accessed by a QR code or link on the certificate.

If information on SRI functionalities and recommendations on improvement are provided on a website it is likely to be most useful to display the matrix of domain and impacts and invite users to click on each aspect of interest to see nested information on how the scores are related to the functionalities, how the functionality can be improved and the benefits to be obtained from doing so. In general, it is preferable that certificates carry some explanation on the certificate with a link to further information on a website or simply have all explanation on a website compared to simply using text on a certificate. It is also important that information be given on the SRI’s scope, and especially what it doesn’t address, to avoid misunderstanding and potential accusations of misrepresentation.

Preferably, the length of the physical certificate should be limited to two sides. A priori, the same certificate design can be used for residential and non-residential buildings.