Industry and manufacturing · Ventilation
Ventilation in industry and manufacturing: what the SRI measures
Ventilation is about demand-controlled ventilation: more air when more people are present or CO2 rises, less when a room is empty. Heat recovery, free cooling with outdoor air and air-quality reporting count as well.
In short
- 1This page shows how the Smart Readiness Indicator works for industrial and production buildings.
- 2Ventilation carries significant weight, with a weighting factor of 2 out of 3 compared to other domains.
- 3The assessment covers only the building and its installations, not the production process itself.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply air flow control at the room level V-1a · A · 5 levels | No ventilation system or manual control | Local Demand Control based on air quality sensors (CO2, VOC, ...) with local flow from/to the zone regulated by dampers | level 2 or higher |
| Air flow or pressure control at the air handler level V-1c · 5 levels | No automatic control: Continuously supplies of air flow for a maximum load of all rooms | Automatic flow or pressure control with pressure reset: Load dependent supplies of air flow for the demand of all connected rooms (for variable air volume systems with VFD) | – |
| Heat recovery control: prevention of overheating V-2c · 3 levels | Without overheating control | Modulate or bypass heat recovery based on multiple room temperature sensors or predictive control | – |
| Supply air temperature control at the air handling unit level V-2d · 4 levels | No automatic control | Variable set point with load dependant compensation. A control loop enables to control the supply air temperature. The setpoint is defined as a function of the loads in the room | – |
| Free cooling with mechanical ventilation system V-3 · 4 levels | No automatic control | H,x-directed control: The amount of outside air and recirculation air are modulated during all periods of time to minimize the amount of mechanical cooling. Calculation is performed on the basis of temperatures and humidity (enthalpy) | – |
| Reporting information regarding IAQ V-6 · A · 4 levels | None | Real time monitoring & historical information of IAQ available to occupants + warning on maintenance needs or occupant actions (e.g. window opening) | 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 11 percentage points (from 32 to 43 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
What does the SRI measure in an industrial or production building?
The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) assesses how intelligent a building's installations are. For industrial and production facilities, one important restriction applies: only the building and its technical installations count. The production process itself, such as machinery or production lines, falls outside the assessment.
This distinction is necessary because production processes vary enormously between businesses. The SRI looks at what every building has in common: heating, cooling, ventilation, and energy management of the building itself. Waste heat from the process, monitoring, and flexibility of the electricity network are relevant considerations.
Industrial buildings often already have some form of energy management, because this is needed for the process. These existing systems can sometimes also contribute to a higher SRI score for the building portion.
Why does ventilation carry so much weight?
The Ventilation domain (V) has a weighting factor of 2 out of 3 for this building type. This is high compared to other domains. Ventilation is about demand-controlled ventilating: supplying more air when more people are present or CO2 levels rise, less air when a space is empty.
In large production halls and commercial buildings, a well-regulated ventilation system can save considerable energy. Heat recovery, free cooling with outside air (the use of cool outside air instead of mechanical cooling), and air quality reporting play a role here.
Which smart-ready services belong to ventilation?
Within this domain, various smart-ready services (functions that make a building smarter) are assessed. Examples include control of supply air flow rate at room level and at the air handling unit level, control of heat recovery to prevent overheating, and control of supply air temperature.
Free cooling with a mechanical ventilation system and reporting of air quality information also count. Each service has functionality levels from 0 to 4, where level 0 stands for no automatic control and level 4 for the most advanced, demand-controlled operation.
What does this mean for the obligation?
The SRI is currently voluntary. Industrial buildings with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning capacity (HVAC) above 290 kilowatts often fall into this category, and it is expected that the SRI will become mandatory for this group.
The European Commission must adopt a delegated act by 30 June 2027 that regulates this. Until then, owners of industrial buildings can use the SRI to gain insight into how smart their installations are.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Have the ventilation installation of your production building assessed, because this domain carries significant weight in the score and often offers considerable room for improvement. Investing in demand-controlled regulation and heat recovery can both increase the SRI class and lower energy consumption.
- Tenant
- As a tenant of a commercial hall, you will notice better ventilation mainly through more consistent air quality and less draughts or temperature fluctuations. A higher SRI score can also indicate lower shared energy costs, because the building manages heating and cooling more efficiently.
- Advisor
- Pay close attention to the distinction between building installations and the production process when making the assessment, because only the former counts towards the SRI. Place extra emphasis on the ventilation services given their heavy weighting, and check whether existing energy management for the process also covers functions for the building.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?