Questions and terms

The SRI is still a voluntary instrument; member states decide themselves on introduction and testing. By 30 June 2027 at the latest, however, the EU Commission will adopt a delegated act requiring its application for non-residential buildings with a rated output of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning above 290 kW. From that point these buildings will need an SRI to be able to officially certify their smart readiness.

The SRI offers a standardised assessment model for the smart readiness of buildings, above all with regard to building technology. The uniform assessment methodology makes it easier to compare buildings, to make well-founded investment decisions and to implement smart technologies broadly and purposefully in the building sector.

The SRI methodology is defined uniformly across the EU so that results are comparable. However, member states decide how and to what extent they use the SRI. The standardised methodology nonetheless enables comparable assessments and the determination of the potential of buildings within the EU and beyond.

The ability of a building to use intelligent technology for three goals: efficient operation, adaptation to occupant needs and response to signals from the electricity grid. The result is a percentage value across nine technical domains — a transparent measure of how well a building is prepared for digital technologies.

For each service relevant to the building — such as the control of heat emission — a functionality level from 0 to 4 is determined. The levels are weighted across seven impact criteria and combined into domain and overall scores.

Each assessed service contributes to seven overarching impact criteria, across which the functionality levels are weighted: (1) energy efficiency, (2) energy flexibility and storage, (3) comfort, (4) convenience, (5) health, well-being and accessibility, (6) maintenance and fault prediction, and (7) information for building occupants.

Method A is the simplified assessment with a reduced service catalogue for smaller buildings; method B is the detailed on-site assessment with the full catalogue for complex non-residential buildings.

The energy performance certificate assesses the energy demand or consumption of a building. The SRI assesses how intelligently the building technology can be operated — it complements the certificate, it does not replace it.

Yes, the methodology is applicable to both residential and non-residential buildings. The obligation envisaged at EU level from 2027, however, concerns only large non-residential buildings.

There is not yet a uniform accreditation; the requirements for assessors are being trialled in the national test phases and defined by the member states. 

That depends on building size, method and data availability: a simplified assessment by method A is possible with manageable effort, while a detailed method-B assessment of a large non-residential building requires a structured survey of the building technology.

16 member states with an official national test phase: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Czechia and Cyprus.

A reliable assessment of your own building technology, comparability across a portfolio and a sound basis for modernisation decisions — and preparation should the assessment become mandatory for large non-residential buildings from 2027.