Nail the essentials: How can a building be Smart? What is the Smart Readiness Indicator?

The SRI provides a common language for building stakeholders (owners, designers, solution providers, policy actors, etc.) to discuss how to make buildings smarter, and what benefits this will bring. There are 9 technical domains and 7 impact criteria for the SRI assessment.

Assessing buildings according to a scale of smartness: a new paradigm in the building sector.

Using smart technologies in buildings can be a cost-effective way to assist in creating healthier and more comfortable buildings with lower energy use and carbon emissions. For instance:

  1. Digital technologies such as smart thermostats and lighting control can pay back within 2 years.
  2. Smart technologies, such as automated sun shading control or ventilation control based on air-quality sensors, can also improve health, well-being and comfort
  3. Intelligent scheduling of energy consumption (white goods, electric vehicles, etc.) can result in significant energy savings, and at the same time it contributes to grid balancing.
Illustration of a smart home with energy optimization, local energy storage, automatic maintenance, and improved resident comfort
Illustration showing a smart home system with features like energy use optimization, local green energy storage, automatic diagnosis and maintenance prediction, and improved comfort for residents via automation.

To promote the use of smart building technologies, the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI), a common EU framework for rating the smart readiness of buildings, was introduced in the last 2018 revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The SRI provides a common language for building stakeholders (owners, designers, solution providers, policy actors, etc.) to discuss how to make buildings smarter, and what benefits this will bring.

The rating aims to measure the “smartness” of a building, intended as the ability of a building to sense, interpret, communicate, and respond efficiently to changing conditions. 

How to obtain a SRI

For the experts involved in the SRI journey, it has been paramount to be methodologically consistent as well as easily understandable and accessible also for non-expert building users. Hence, the SRI mainly originates from the European standard EN 15232–1 “Energy performance of buildings – Impact of automation and of technical management on the energy consumption of buildings”. Further adaptations and integrations have been made.

To obtain the SRI of a building, 3 are the key functionalities that are considered: 

  • the operation of technical building systems; 
  • the external environment (including energy grids);
  • the demands from building occupants.

The level of the building capability to optimize energy efficiency and overall in-use performance, the level of building adaptation to the needs of the occupant and to the signals from the energy grid (as energy flexibility) determines the  SRI rating.

The 9 technical domains assessed by the rating are: heating; cooling; domestic hot water; ventilation; lighting; dynamic building envelope; electricity; electric vehicle charging; monitoring, and control.

Linked to the key functionalities, there are 7 impact criteria: energy efficiency and maintenance and fault prediction are linked to the first key functionality – how the building optimize energy efficiency and in-use performance; comfort, convenience, health well-being and accessibility, information to occupants are connected to the second key functionality – how the building adapts its operation to the needs of the occupants; last, the energy flexibility and storage criteria are linked to the key functionality –  how the building adapt to the signals from the grid – energy flexibility.

How does it work? An assessor rates each building according to the 9 domains and the 7 impact criteria. The sum of domain and impact scores provides the total SRI rating. 

More information can be found on the EU online forum that supports and monitors the implementation of the SRI in Europe: navigate through the SRI hub and read the factsheet on the SRI.

Listen to Prof. Paris Fokaides in his Expert Talk organized by EU BUILD.

Read more about the project

Or subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with the latest developments of our projects.

By clicking Sign Up you’re confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions.

Observe

News from our partner EPB Center 🇳🇱

📢 At the EU Sustainable Energy Week 2025, EPB Center represented OBSERVE during the high-level policy session “EF Build Perform: how to deliver on the EPBD” and at the joint Energy Fair stand “Next-gen Build Perform & Heat Pumps”, together with sister projects. 🎯 These activities are part of OBSERVE’s mission to contribute to the effective implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and raise awareness on how to accelerate its roll-out across Europe. 🧩 EPB Center also

Read More »
EUSEW 2025
SmarterEPC

SmarterEPC Showcases Innovation at EUSEW 2025

The SmarterEPC project marked a significant presence at the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2025, held in Brussels last week. A key achievement, best practices and tools to start implementing the EPBD IV at higher speed rates in the market. As SmarterEPC, we showcased the innovation we are bringing to combine the EPC and SRI in a unique solution.

Read More »
Observe

🗣️ OBSERVE at the European Sustainable Energy Week 2025

The OBSERVE project was proud to take part in the #EUSEW25 policy session:“From Policy to Practice: Fair and Competitive Energy Performance of Buildings Directive Implementation”, jointly organized by eu.bac and the EPB Center. Our partner Sophie Dourlens-Quaranta from R2M Solution France shared insights on how unlocking building performance data is key to effective EPBD implementation across the EU. OBSERVE contributes to the development of data-driven compliance tools that support both transparency and improved building performance. 💡 The session brought together

Read More »
EU Policies analysis, challenges and recommendations for Smart Readiness Indicator and Energy Performance Certification - publication
SmarterEPC

EPC and SRI Current Coverage and Uptake Policies

The new SmarterEPC Deliverable is a pivotal report that offers a detailed, EU-wide analysis of the current status, challenges, and future pathways for Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI). This deliverable is a key resource for policymakers, stakeholders, and market actors aiming to accelerate the digital and smart transformation of Europe’s building stock.

Read More »
Observe

OBSERVE is thrilled to take part in #EUSEW25!

Join us for a dynamic policy session exploring key tools, EU funding opportunities, and best practices to support a fair, competitive, and effective implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. “From policy to practice: fair and competitive energy performance of buildings directive implementation” 📅 Date: Thursday, 12 June 2025 🕤 Time: 09:30 – 11:00 CEST 📍 Location: Martin’s Hotel, Brussels – Room Quartz (Boulevard Charlemagne 80) 🔗 Learn more and join us: https://lnkd.in/gkjQ8cmy Let’s shape the future of energy-efficient

Read More »
Observe

The Press Release of OBSERVE is out!

Read below to discover the Press Release of the OBSERVE Project: OBSERVE (Support for Setting up National Building Stock Observatories Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Read More »