Apartment building · Cooling
Cooling in apartment building: what the SRI measures
Cooling mirrors heating: control per room, prevent heating and cooling from fighting each other, store cold when electricity is cheap, and let the chiller follow actual demand.
In short
- 1This page shows how the Smart Readiness Indicator assesses cooling in apartment complexes.
- 2Cooling plays a minor role in many residential buildings, but where collective cooling is present this domain counts with a weighting factor of 1 on a scale of 0 to 3.
- 3The score depends on services such as room control, pump management and whether the system can respond to electricity grid signals.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling emission control C-1a · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Individual room control with communication and occupancy detection | at least level 1 |
| Emission control for TABS (cooling mode) C-1b · 4 levels | No automatic control | Advanced central automatic control with intermittent operation and/or room temperature feedback control | – |
| Control of distribution network chilled water temperature (supply or return) C-1c · 3 levels | Constant temperature control | Demand based control | – |
| Control of distribution pumps in networks C-1d · 5 levels | No automatic control | Variable speed pump control (external demand signal) | – |
| Interlock: avoiding simultaneous heating and cooling in the same room C-1f · 3 levels | No interlock | Total interlock (control system ensures no simultaneous heating and cooling can take place) | – |
| Control of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) operation C-1g · 4 levels | Continuous storage operation | Cold storage capable of flexible control through grid signals (e.g. DSM) | – |
| Generator control for cooling C-2a · A · 4 levels | On/Off-control of cooling production | Variable control of cooling production capacity depending on the load AND external signals from grid | at least level 1 |
| Sequencing of different cooling generators C-2b · 5 levels | Priorities only based on running times | Sequencing based on dynamic priority list, including external signals from grid | – |
| Report information regarding cooling system performance C-3 · A · 5 levels | None | Central or remote reporting of performance evaluation including forecasting and/or benchmarking; also including predictive management and fault detection | at least level 1 |
| Flexibility and grid interaction C-4 · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Optimized control of cooling system based on local predictions and grid signals (e.g. through model predictive control) | at least level 1 |
Worked example
If everything in this domain is at level 0, the domain contributes nothing. At the highest level for all services, the indicative total score for this building type rises by about 7 percentage points (from 32 to 39 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does cooling count in an apartment complex?
Cooling is one of nine domains in the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) that together determine the score. The SRI is a voluntary instrument from the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) that measures how well a building is prepared for smart, energy-efficient technology.
In residential buildings cooling is usually less present than heating. Nevertheless the domain receives a relative weighting factor of 1 on a scale of 0 to 3. This means cooling counts lightly towards the overall score, not that the building automatically scores low if cooling is absent.
In an apartment complex cooling often refers to collective cooling in common areas, such as a lobby or technical room. Individual cooling per apartment is less common and is then assessed per unit.
Which smart-ready services play a role?
Within the cooling domain various smart-ready services are assessed, each with its own functionality level from 0 to 4. Room-by-room cooling control (C-1a) examines whether temperature is adjusted automatically and individually, with possible communication to the building management system (BMS).
Other services examine pumps in the distribution network (C-1d), prevention of simultaneous heating and cooling in the same room (C-1f, interlock) and how the chiller adjusts its capacity to demand (C-2a).
Performance reporting (C-3) and the ability to have the system respond to electricity grid signals (C-4) also count. The latter is called flexibility and grid interaction, and becomes increasingly important as more charging points and solar panels are installed in the building.
What does this mean for the owners' association?
An owners' association decides jointly on investments in building technology. A higher score in the cooling domain often requires central control instead of individual, manually operated units.
Because cooling counts relatively lightly, for most apartment complexes it is not the domain where the greatest gains can be made. Heating, lighting in common areas and charging points often carry more weight in practice.
What this means for you
- Owner
- As an owner or member of the owners' association board it is useful to know whether collective cooling is present and at what level it is controlled before an SRI assessment is requested. This prevents surprises in the score and helps support future investments to the assembly.
- Tenant
- A resident notices the cooling domain mainly in common areas, for example a cooler lobby in summer, and rarely in their own apartment. A higher class does not automatically mean a cooler home, but rather a better regulated building.
- Advisor
- An advisor must first establish whether there is collective cooling, individual units or no cooling in apartment complexes, as this directly determines which smart-ready services apply. Pay attention to the interlock between heating and cooling (C-1f) and to grid control options (C-4), as these points are often overlooked.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?