Industry and manufacturing · Monitoring and control
Monitoring and control in industry and manufacturing: 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 explains how the Smart Readiness Indicator works for industrial and production buildings.
- 2The monitoring and control domain carries the highest weight here, with a weighting factor of 3 out of 3.
- 3For industrial buildings above 290 kW, the building management system is expected to become a mandatory focus point once the European Commission adopts the announced delegated act.
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 | highest level |
| 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 | highest level |
| 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 | 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 22 percentage points (from 26 to 48 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
What does the Smart Readiness Indicator measure in industrial buildings?
The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) assesses how well a building and its systems are prepared for smart, energy-efficient operation. For industry and production, this explicitly excludes the production process itself. The assessment focuses on the building and its technical systems.
This distinction matters. A factory hall may have an advanced energy management system for the process, while the building itself scores low. The SRI examines waste heat recovery, monitoring and flexibility of building systems, separate from what happens in the process.
Why does monitoring and control carry such heavy weight?
For industry and production, the monitoring and control domain (MC) receives the maximum weighting factor: 3 out of 3. This domain covers the building management system, which coordinates systems and detects faults.
This heavy weighting reflects practice. Industrial buildings often have large electrical connections. Flexibility, the ability to adjust consumption according to grid signals, is therefore literally worth money.
The services in this domain range from operating hour management of heating and cooling systems (MC-3) to integration with the smart grid (MC-25). Fault detection (MC-4) and central energy reporting (MC-13) are also included.
What does demand response mean for industrial buildings?
Demand response, adjusting energy consumption according to electricity grid signals, appears in several services. MC-25, MC-28 and MC-29 address this directly.
A higher functionality level means greater coordination here: from isolated demand response per system to a coordinated approach across multiple building systems. The highest level, MC-30, combines this with optimisation based on occupancy, weather and grid signals.
When does this become mandatory?
The SRI is currently voluntary. For utility buildings with HVAC capacity above 290 kW, which industrial buildings often are, the indicator is expected to become mandatory through a delegated act that the European Commission must adopt by 30 June 2027.
Separately, these buildings already face a building automation requirement under Article 13 of the EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive), in effect since late 2024 for capacity above 290 kW.
What this means for you
- Owner
- First identify which building-related monitoring and control functions are already in place, separate from energy management of the production process. Given the heavy weighting of this domain for industrial buildings and the upcoming requirement above 290 kW, this is a good time to assess gaps.
- Tenant
- As a tenant of a production facility, you mainly notice whether faults are detected quickly and whether energy consumption is transparent. A building with higher monitoring and control functions typically offers better control over your own energy costs and fewer unexpected outages.
- Advisor
- When assessing, carefully distinguish between process and building: only building-related systems count for the SRI. Pay special attention to services within monitoring and control, given the maximum weighting factor of 3 out of 3 for this building type.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?