In recent years, the interest in building control and automation systems has increased
considerably: now they are considered by guidelines and standards as a fundamental
element to achieve the ambitious energy effi ciency objectives of the European Union,
while maintaining a high level of comfort in all situations.
EPBD Directive
The energy efficiency and performance of buildings has been the focus of attention of
planners, builders and end customers since the EPBD was published in 2002. When
EU countries implemented the first version of the directive, numerical indicators
were defined that allowed buildings to be classified according to their energy
performance: in the energy performance certificate (APE) in use in Italy, for example,
it is necessary to indicate the energy requirement in kilowatt-hours per square metre
and year. In 2010 there was a first revision of the Directive and eight years later a
second one was published. The revision published in 2018 introduces for the first
time an ‘intelligence of the building’ indicator, which is an important factor in the
deployment of smart technologies in buildings; for the world of home and building
automation, this latest version is therefore particularly significant, as one of the
objectives is to actively promote the widespread use of these systems.
Intelligent readiness indicator
The indicator introduced by the Directive is very important to provide the most
concise information to all stakeholders: planners, investors, end-users, managers and
service providers. The indicator makes it possible to assess the ability of buildings
(or individual building units) to adapt their operation to the needs of their occupants -
optimising energy effi ciency and overall performance - and to adapt their operation
in response to signals from the grid in a way that maximises energy fl exibility.
The directive emphasises that ‘the building intelligence readiness indicator should
raise awareness among owners and occupants of the value of building automation and
electronic monitoring of technical building systems, and should reassure occupants of the
real savings of these new improved functionalities. The use of the system to assess the
intelligence readiness of buildings should be optional for Member States.”
What does ‘intelligent readiness’ mean?
The three key-functions of ‘intelligent readiness’ of a building can be summarised as
follows:
• ability to ensure the energy effi ciency and operation of the building by adjusting its
energy consumption (e.g. through the use of energy from renewable sources);
• ability to adapt operation to the needs of end-users, paying attention to ease of use,
maintenance of comfortable climatic conditions and the ability to adequately inform
about energy consumption;
• fl exibility of overall electricity demand, including the ability to participate actively
and passively in demand and to take account of grid conditions (in demand-response
mode), e.g. through fl exibility and load-shifting capabilities.
For end-users, owners and investors, the SRI indicator provides information on the services
that the building provides; having reliable information on the intelligence of the building
(and its potential improvements) can positively guide their investment decisions. For end
users in particular, the transition to smarter buildings brings multiple benefi ts, including
higher energy effi ciency and better health, well-being and comfort. Facility managers are
also aff ected by the indicator, as they will be called upon to manage smart systems and
can infl uence investment decisions. There are also positive impacts for various service
providers, including grid operators, manufacturers of technical building systems, design
and engineering companies and many others. The indicator allows them to position their
service off erings, providing a neutral and common framework in which the capacity of
their intelligent services can be directly compared to that of their competitors, including
the non-smart technology-based services of more traditional operators.
Indicator defi nition
In its usual guiding function, the EU directive describes the priority objectives, but does not
go into detail, which has to take into account a number of technical factors and requires
specifi c expertise. To this end, the European Commission commissioned a study by a
consortium including VITO, Waide Strategic Effi ciency, Ecofys and OFFIS. The methodology
developed is based on the assessment of the “intelligent services” that are present in a
building. These services are realised through one or more intelligent technologies and are
defi ned in a neutral way, e.g. as the “ability to control the power emitted by artifi cial lighting”.
Building intelligence indicator (SRI)
LIGHTING IN SMART BUILDINGS
Sectors
Nine domains (“domains”) have been defi ned, such as heating, lighting or electric vehicle
charging, to which an additional sector (“miscellaneous”) can be added, which may include
services that are not currently within the scope or are not mature enough to be included.
The sector includes a catalogue of services (54 for the expert approach, 27 for the
simplifi ed approach); 2 to 5 levels of functionality are defi ned for each service. A higher
level of functionality refl ects a more intelligent use of the service, which generally
translates into an advantage for building users or the electricity grid compared to a lower
level of functionality. The level of functionality implemented has a diff erent impact on a
number of factors: e.g. energy savings, improved comfort or fl exibility towards the grid.
Impact criteria
Seven distinct impact categories were considered in the study. In the fi nal SRI indicator,
the impact criteria may evolve further - for example towards a simpler set - to facilitate
their use and use for reporting purposes. Addressing this multiplicity of sectors and
impacts, an assessment method involving the assignment of weightings (weights) was
proposed for the calculation of the indicator to refl ect the contribution of the various
sectors and impacts in determining an overall aggregate score.
The result of the evaluation can be presented in various ways*:
• as an overall score (e.g. a dimensionless number);
• as a relative score in percentage terms (e.g. indicating that a building reaches 65% of
its intelligence potential);
• as a classifi cation (e.g. a ‘B’ class label).
*) Source: 2017/SEB/R/1610684, study carried out under the authority of the European Commission (DG Energy).
The role of lighting in sri indicator
When talkin The SRI indicator objective g about lighting functions, one can go from the
simple execution of a “manual on/off switch” to more eff ective controls such as “automatic
on/off switch based on daylight presence” or even “automatic dimming based on daylight
presence”. For example, in the table below you can fi nd the impact points for each service:
• Lighting-1: presence-based control for indoor lighting;
• Lighting-2: artifi cial lighting power control based on daylight presence.
References
May 30th 2018 UE directive 2018/844 of the European Parliament and Cabinet modifying
directive 2010/31/UE about building energy performance and directive 2012/27/UE on
energy effi ciency
Final report on the technical support to the development of a smart readiness indicator for
buildings, June 2020, European Commission.
heating
cooling
domestic
hot water
controlled
ventilation
lighting
dynamic
enclosure
electricity
recharging electric
vehicles
monitoring
and control
Code
Service
Service group: Artificial lighting power control based on daylight presence
Lighting-2
Artificial lighting power control based on daylight presence
Functionality level
Impacts
Energy saving
on the spot
Electrical
network
flexibility and
storage
Comfort
Convenience
Well-being
and health
Maintenance
and fault
prediction
Information
to residents
Level 0
Manual (centralized)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Level 1
Manual (for each environment/zone)
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
Level 2
Automatic switching
2
0
1
1
1
0
0
Level 3
Automatic dimming
3
0
2
2
2
0
0
Level 4
Automatic dimming, including scenario-based light control (dynamic and adaptive
lighting scenarios are set during time intervals, e.g. in terms of illuminance level,
correlated colour temperature and the possibility to change the light distribution
within the space according to e.g. design, human needs, visual tasks)
3
0
3
3
3
0
0
Source: “Support for setting up a Smart Readiness Indicator for buildings and related impact assessment” study, attachment D, add. June 2020, European Commission
Energy saving
on the spot
Electrical network
����������������������
comfort
convenience
����������
����������
maintenance
��������������������
Information
������������
Code
Service
Service group: artificial lighting control
Lighting-1a
Presence-based control for indoor lighting
Functionality level
Impacts
Energy saving
on the spot
Electrical
network
flexibility and
storage
Comfort
Convenience
Well-being
and health
Maintenance
and fault
prediction
Information
to residents
Level 0
On/off manual switch
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Level 1
On/off manual switch + additional switching off signal
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
Level 2
Automatic detection (automatic on / automatic or dimmed off )
2
0
2
2
0
0
0
Level 3
Automatic detection (manual on / automatic or dimmed off )
3
0
2
2
0
0
0
The SRI indicator objective
The main objective of the SRI indicator is to raise awareness of the benefi ts
to be gained from the use of smart technologies and ITC (Information and
Communication Technology) in buildings, motivating people to accelerate
investment in these technologies as much as possible, particularly from an
energy perspective.
SMART LIGHTING
SMART LIGHTING
108
109
