A building can be well insulated and still not very smart. The heating is on in empty rooms, the lights are on while the sun is shining and nobody notices that a pump has been idle for weeks. To make this visible, Europe created the Smart Readiness Indicator: the SRI.
In this blog we explain what the SRI is, where it stands now, and how it relates to the IT-Label.
What is the Smart Readiness Indicator?
The SRI is a European measure of how smartly a building controls its installations. It is laid down in two European regulations from 2020 (2020/2155 and 2020/2156). The outcome is a score from 0 to 100 percent, divided into seven classes.
The SRI asks three questions about a building:
- Energy. Can the building control its installations so that it uses no more energy than necessary?
- Users. Does it respond to the people who work or live in it, with comfort, healthy air and information?
- Energy grid. Can it adapt to the energy grid, for example by shifting consumption?
These questions are answered for nine parts of the building: heating, domestic hot water, cooling, ventilation, lighting, the dynamic building envelope (such as sun shading), electricity, electric vehicle charging, and monitoring and control.
A clear, independent explanation of the SRI, including the classes, the method and a calculation tool, can be found at smartreadinessindicator.org.
Will the SRI become mandatory?
At the moment, the SRI is voluntary throughout Europe. That is expected to change. The revised European directive on the energy performance of buildings (Directive (EU) 2024/1275) requires the European Commission to take a decision by 30 June 2027 on making it mandatory for non-residential buildings with a heating, cooling and ventilation capacity above 290 kW. Exactly what that obligation will look like has not yet been decided.
The Netherlands has not had an official test phase, but there have been several pilots. smartreadinessindicator.org keeps track of the current situation per country. More about the rules around IT and buildings can be found on our page IT and regulation.
SRI and IT-Label: what is the difference?
The SRI and the IT-Label both look at a smart building, but from a different angle.
The SRI looks at the installations. How smartly are heating, ventilation, lighting and charging points controlled? How well do they respond to users and to the energy grid?
The IT-Label looks at the digital infrastructure. Is there a good connection? How good are the cabling and the WiFi? How are the networks set up and secured? And can the people in the building work well digitally? The IT-Label assesses six components: connectivity, infrastructure, performance, scalability, integration and Smart Building. The outcome is a level from IT1+ to IT5.
In short: the SRI measures how smart the building is. The IT-Label measures the network that intelligence runs on.
Why you need both
Smart installations depend on the network. A building management system that responds to occupancy, sensors that measure how busy a space is, charging points that adapt to the energy grid: they all send data over the network. If that network is unstable, the smart control does not work as intended. And if those systems share a network with the tenants' laptops, that is a security risk. Also read cybersecurity in smart buildings.
The reverse is also true: a building with an excellent network but old-fashioned controls leaves energy and comfort on the table.
Together, the SRI and the IT-Label therefore give a complete picture of a smart and digital building:
- SRI: how smart are the installations?
- IT-Label: is the digital foundation good enough to build on, for the installations and for the people?
What can you do now?
The SRI is still voluntary, but it is wise to prepare now. Especially if you own or manage a large non-residential building.
- Map the digital foundation. With a pre-inspection or IT-Label audit you know what is in place and how it performs.
- Provide a separate network for building systems. See network segmentation.
- Include it in your maintenance plan. Read how on our page for technical managers.
- Combine it with sustainability. Smart control and a good network go hand in hand. See IT and sustainability.
More about the IT-Label itself can be found at What is the IT-Label? and on the official site it-label.com. Want to know where your building stands now? Take the free self-scan.
This blog gives a general overview and is not legal advice. The state of the rules may change.