Apartment building · Lighting
Lighting in apartment building: what the SRI measures
For lighting, the SRI does not measure the lamp but the control: does the light switch off when nobody is there, and does it dim with daylight. This is often the cheapest domain to score points in.
In short
- 1This page shows how intelligently lighting is controlled in common areas of apartment complexes.
- 2The Smart Readiness Indicator looks only at hallways, stairwells and parking garages here, not at lighting in the individual homes.
- 3Lighting is often the domain where a homeowners association can earn points quickly and affordably.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupancy control for indoor lighting L-1a · A · 4 levels | Manual on/off switch | Automatic detection (manual on / dimmed or auto off) | at least level 1 |
| Control artificial lighting power based on daylight levels L-2 · 5 levels | Manual (central) | Automatic dimming including scene-based light control (during time intervals, dynamic and adapted lighting scenes are set, for example, in terms of illuminance level, different correlated colour temperature (CCT) and the possibility to change the light distribution within the space according to e.g. design, human needs, visual tasks) | – |
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 3 percentage points (from 33 to 36 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does lighting count in an apartment complex?
The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) measures how well technical systems in a building are tailored to the user and energy consumption. In an apartment complex, lighting is not about the homes themselves, but about common areas: stairwells, hallways and parking garages.
The Lighting domain (L) carries relatively modest weight in this building type compared with other domains, with a weighting factor of 1 on a scale of 0 to 3. Yet this domain is often the easiest for a homeowners association or housing corporation to improve.
What exactly does the SRI measure for lighting?
The indicator does not look at lamp type, but at how the lighting is controlled. Two smart-ready services are relevant here.
The first service, presence control for indoor lighting, assesses whether lights turn on and off automatically when someone enters or leaves a space. The lowest functionality level is a manual switch, the highest level is automatic detection with manual on and automatic off.
The second service, control of artificial lighting power based on daylight, checks whether the lighting adjusts in response to incoming daylight. This ranges from fully manual operation to automatic dimming with scene-based lighting control.
What makes this domain interesting for a homeowners association?
Presence sensors in stairwells and parking garages are relatively inexpensive to install and deliver a higher functionality level straightaway. Daylight control is often already possible with existing light fixtures without replacing the entire installation.
Because decision-making in an apartment complex runs through the homeowners association, a small, affordable change to lighting is usually easier to approve than interventions to, say, collective heating.
How does this domain relate to the rest of the building?
The SRI includes seven impact criteria, among them energy efficiency and comfort. For lighting in common areas, energy saving and convenience play the main roles, less so than, for instance, health or maintenance.
Because the weighting factor of this domain is relatively low, lighting alone does not determine the building class. It is, however, one of the domains where improvement is quick to achieve, which can support the overall score.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Have presence control and daylight control in common areas assessed, as this is often the most affordable way to improve the score. Present a proposal for sensors or dimming control to the homeowners association so that a relatively small investment yields visible results.
- Tenant
- As a resident you notice this domain chiefly in the stairwell or parking garage: the light comes on by itself when you enter and switches off automatically when no one is there. Better control means less unnecessary energy use without any action required on your part.
- Advisor
- Check whether presence control works per zone and whether daylight sensors actually dim the artificial lighting rather than just switching it on and off. Bear in mind that this domain carries relatively modest weight, so discuss other domains with the homeowners association too for a realistic improvement plan.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?