Apartment building · Monitoring and control
Monitoring and control in apartment building: what the SRI measures
Monitoring and control is the building's nervous system: the building management system that coordinates installations, detects faults, reports energy use and can respond to occupancy and to grid signals.
In short
- 1This page shows how monitoring and control in an apartment complex is assessed using the Smart Readiness Indicator.
- 2This domain carries significant weight: 2 of the 3 weighting factors for residential buildings.
- 3Services such as operating hours management, fault detection and grid integration determine how the building management system responds to occupancy and the energy network.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run time management of HVAC systems MC-3 · 4 levels | Manual setting | Heating and cooling plant on/off control based on predictive control or grid signals | – |
| Detecting faults of technical building systems and providing support to the diagnosis of these faults MC-4 · 4 levels | No central indication of detected faults and alarms | With central indication of detected faults and alarms for all relevant TBS, including diagnosing functions | – |
| Occupancy detection: connected services MC-9 · 3 levels | None | Centralised occupant detection which feeds in to several TBS such as lighting and heating | – |
| Central reporting of TBS performance and energy use MC-13 · A · 4 levels | None | Central or remote reporting of realtime energy use per energy carrier, combining TBS of all main domains in one interface | level 2 or higher |
| Smart Grid Integration MC-25 · A · 3 levels | None - No harmonization between grid and TBS; building is operated independently from the grid load | Coordinated demand side management of multiple TBS | level 2 or higher |
| Reporting information regarding demand side management performance and operation MC-28 · 3 levels | None | Reporting information on current, historical and predicted DSM status, including managed energy flows | – |
| Override of DSM control MC-29 · 5 levels | No DSM control | Scheduled override of DSM control and reactivation with optimised control | – |
| Single platform that allows automated control & coordination between TBS + optimization of energy flow based on occupancy, weather and grid signals MC-30 · A · 4 levels | None | Single platform that allows automated control & coordination between TBS + optimization of energy flow based on occupancy, weather and grid signals | level 2 or higher |
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 20 percentage points (from 26 to 46 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
What does the monitoring and control domain measure?
Monitoring and control concerns the building management system: the technology that coordinates installations and signals faults. In an apartment complex, this centres on collective heating, common areas and charging points in the car park.
For this building type, this domain carries significant weight in the Smart Readiness Indicator, or SRI. The weighting is 2 of the 3 possible points, higher than for many other building types.
Which smart-ready services play a role?
Operating hours management of HVAC systems (MC-3) assesses whether heating and cooling run on a fixed schedule, or whether the system adapts to building load and even responds to signals from the energy network.
Fault detection (MC-4) and presence detection (MC-9) determine whether problems are visible centrally and whether lighting or heating responds to who is actually present. In an apartment association building, this often covers only common areas.
Central reporting (MC-13) shows whether energy consumption per energy carrier, such as gas or electricity, is displayed clearly. Integration with the smart grid (MC-25) and demand response (MC-28, MC-29) concern whether the building can adapt to the electricity network, for example at charging points.
Why is this relevant for an apartment association?
An apartment complex rarely has an installation above 290 kW, so mandatory building automation is usually not required. The EPBD, the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, does require this above that threshold.
Still, a high score on this domain can help with decision-making within the apartment association. It makes visible which investments in the building management system have the most effect.
What does functionality level mean in practice?
Each service has functionality levels from 0 to 4. Level 0 usually means no functionality; higher levels stand for coordinated and predictive control.
For MC-30, a single platform for coordination between technical building systems, the highest level lies in optimisation based on occupancy, weather and grid signals together. That level is still rare for an average apartment complex.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Have the building management system of the complex assessed on the services within monitoring and control, especially around fault detection and charging points, because this domain carries significant weight in the score. A higher score can strengthen the business case for investments in the building at the apartment association meeting.
- Tenant
- As a resident, you will mainly notice improvements in common areas, such as lighting that responds to presence or clearer information about faults. At charging points in the car park, a higher level can mean that charging is aligned more intelligently with the electricity network.
- Advisor
- When assessing, pay attention to the distinction between collective and individual installations, as this determines which services apply at all. Also check whether the apartment association already uses demand response at charging points, since this is often the only current topic within this domain.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?