Care building · Electricity
Electricity in care building: what the SRI measures
This domain covers the building's electricity management: batteries, solar panels, shifting consumption to cheap hours, reporting to users and responding to grid signals. It is the core of energy flexibility.
In short
- 1This page shows how smartly a care building manages electricity, storage and the local grid.
- 2For nursing homes and care facilities, this domain carries extra weight, with a weighting of 2 out of 3, because the building operates 24 hours a day.
- 3Services E-2 through E-12 show whether the building can store energy, shift consumption and report faults.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting information regarding local electricity generation E-2 · A · 5 levels | None | Performance evaluation including forecasting and/or benchmarking; also including predictive management and fault detection | level 2 or higher |
| Storage of (locally generated) electricity E-3 · A · 5 levels | None | On site storage of energy (e.g. electric battery or thermal storage) with controller optimising the use of locally generated electricity and possibility to feed back into the grid | level 2 or higher |
| Optimizing self-consumption of locally generated electricity E-4 · 4 levels | None | Automated management of local electricity consumption based on current and predicted energy needs and renewable energy availability | – |
| Control of combined heat and power plant (CHP) E-5 · 3 levels | CHP control based on scheduled runtime management and/or current heat energy demand | CHP runtime control influenced by the fluctuating availability of RES and grid signals; dynamic charging and runtime control to optimise self-consumption of renewables | – |
| Support of (micro)grid operation modes E-8 · 4 levels | None | Automated management of (building-level) electricity consumption and supply, with potential to continue limited off-grid operation (island mode) | – |
| Reporting information regarding energy storage E-11 · A · 5 levels | None | Performance evaluation including forecasting and/or benchmarking; also including predictive management and fault detection | level 2 or higher |
| Reporting information regarding electricity consumption E-12 · A · 5 levels | None | Real-time feedback or benchmarking on appliance level with automated personalized recommendations | 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 4 percentage points (from 33 to 37 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does electricity count so heavily in a care building?
A nursing home or care facility never stops operating. No night-time load reduction is possible in residential areas, because residents are always present. Hot tap water is a large and constant consumption, day and night.
This is why the Electricity domain in the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) receives a weighting of 2 out of 3 for this building type. This is high compared with other domains, because electricity flexibility directly affects costs and supply security.
Which smart-ready services play a role?
Service E-2 covers reporting of local electricity generation, for example from solar panels on the roof. Higher functionality levels add forecasting and fault detection, which is relevant for a building that cannot operate without power.
E-3 and E-11 concern storage of electricity, such as a battery, and reporting on it. For a care building with constant consumption, storage can help to manage peaks without disrupting care.
E-4 and E-5 look at optimisation of own consumption and, if present, control of a combined heat and power installation. E-8 covers participation in a microgrid or the grid, and E-12 covers reporting of total electricity consumption.
What does this mean for the score?
Each service is assessed on a functionality level from 0 to 4. A higher level means more automation, more forecasting and more grid integration.
Because this domain carries significant weight, investing in for example battery storage with a control system (E-3, level 2 or higher) or better consumption reporting (E-12) has more impact on the total SRI score than in building types where electricity carries less weight.
What this means for you
- Owner
- As the owner of a care building, it is worthwhile to invest in energy storage with a control system and in clear reporting of electricity consumption, because this domain carries significant weight in the score. This not only lowers energy costs, but also increases supply security for a building that operates 24 hours a day.
- Tenant
- As a resident or care worker, you will notice little of the technology behind the scenes, but you will notice the results: stable power supply, hot water that is always available, and less chance of faults that disrupt care.
- Advisor
- When assessing, pay attention to the presence and level of energy storage (E-3, E-11) and the degree of automation in consumption optimisation (E-4, E-12), because these services, through the weighting of 2 out of 3, have relatively significant influence on the final result. Also check whether fault detection has been included, given the vulnerability of residents.
Next step
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