Hospital · Electricity
Electricity in hospital: 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 the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) assesses the Electricity domain in hospitals.
- 2Hospitals always exceed the 290 kW threshold for building automation and control systems and often have an extensive building management system in place.
- 3The Electricity domain carries maximum weight for this building type, with a weighting factor of 3 out of 3.
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 | highest level |
| 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 | highest level |
| 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 | highest level |
| Reporting information regarding electricity consumption E-12 · A · 5 levels | None | Real-time feedback or benchmarking on appliance level with automated personalized recommendations | highest level |
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 carry such heavy weight in hospitals?
Hospitals rank among Europe's most installation-intensive buildings. They have strict requirements for air handling, continuous power supply, and often have backup power systems and energy storage already in place. For this reason, the Electricity domain within the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) receives the maximum weighting factor of 3 out of 3.
This domain covers a building's electricity management: generation, storage, shifting consumption to low-cost hours, and responding to grid signals. For a hospital with large roof area and constant load, this is often a realistic option, not merely a theoretical possibility.
Which services fall under this domain?
Within the Electricity domain, the SRI assesses seven smart-ready services. Each service receives a functionality level from 0 (no functionality) to 4 (fully automated and predictive).
- E-2: reporting of local electricity generation, for example from solar panels.
- E-3: storage of locally generated electricity, such as batteries or thermal storage.
- E-4: optimisation of own consumption of that generated electricity.
- E-5: control of a combined heat and power installation, if present.
- E-8: support for microgrid or island operation modes.
- E-11: reporting on energy storage itself.
- E-12: reporting on the building's electricity consumption.
For larger hospitals, E-3, E-8 and E-12 are particularly relevant, as backup power and storage are often already present.
What does this mean for the score?
Because the domain has a weighting factor of 3 out of 3, every improvement here counts heavily toward the overall SRI score. A hospital that already has backup power and storage can reach higher functionality levels quickly with limited additional control measures.
The final score is expressed as a percentage and classified into one of seven classes, from below 20 percent to 90 to 100 percent. For buildings with a total useful floor area above 290 kW, the SRI is expected to become mandatory over time through a delegated act.
What this means for you
- Owner
- A hospital owner should connect existing backup power and storage systems to automated control, as this domain carries the greatest weight in the SRI score. Investing in reporting functionality such as E-12 also provides insight that helps with future requirements for buildings above 290 kW.
- Tenant
- A user of the hospital experiences little direct impact from these services but benefits indirectly from more stable power supply and lower energy costs. During outages or peak demand, higher functionality levels reduce disruption to critical departments.
- Advisor
- An advisor should explicitly check whether backup power and storage systems already present in a hospital are actually connected to control based on grid signals, as only then do they count toward higher functionality levels. Also pay attention to the three core functionalities within each service, as these are weighted equally in the final assessment.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?