Municipal and public buildings · Cooling
Cooling in municipal and public buildings: what the SRI measures
Cooling mirrors heating: control per room, prevent heating and cooling from fighting each other, store cold when electricity is cheap, and let the chiller follow actual demand.
In short
- 1This page shows how municipal and community buildings manage cooling intelligently.
- 2For this building type, the cooling domain carries significant weight: it receives a weighting factor of 2 out of 3.
- 3The tables show per smart-ready service which functionality level is achievable, from basic control to full grid connection.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling emission control C-1a · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Individual room control with communication and occupancy detection | level 2 or higher |
| Emission control for TABS (cooling mode) C-1b · 4 levels | No automatic control | Advanced central automatic control with intermittent operation and/or room temperature feedback control | – |
| Control of distribution network chilled water temperature (supply or return) C-1c · 3 levels | Constant temperature control | Demand based control | – |
| Control of distribution pumps in networks C-1d · 5 levels | No automatic control | Variable speed pump control (external demand signal) | – |
| Interlock: avoiding simultaneous heating and cooling in the same room C-1f · 3 levels | No interlock | Total interlock (control system ensures no simultaneous heating and cooling can take place) | – |
| Control of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) operation C-1g · 4 levels | Continuous storage operation | Cold storage capable of flexible control through grid signals (e.g. DSM) | – |
| Generator control for cooling C-2a · A · 4 levels | On/Off-control of cooling production | Variable control of cooling production capacity depending on the load AND external signals from grid | level 2 or higher |
| Sequencing of different cooling generators C-2b · 5 levels | Priorities only based on running times | Sequencing based on dynamic priority list, including external signals from grid | – |
| Report information regarding cooling system performance C-3 · A · 5 levels | None | Central or remote reporting of performance evaluation including forecasting and/or benchmarking; also including predictive management and fault detection | level 2 or higher |
| Flexibility and grid interaction C-4 · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Optimized control of cooling system based on local predictions and grid signals (e.g. through model predictive control) | 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 16 percentage points (from 30 to 46 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does cooling count heavily for municipal buildings?
Town halls, libraries, community centres and theatres form a mixed portfolio. Operating hours vary widely: a theatre runs in the evening, a library operates during the day.
This diversity makes the cooling domain within the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) particularly important. For this building type, cooling carries a weighting factor of 2 out of 3, higher than average.
What does the SRI measure within the cooling domain?
The SRI assesses buildings based on smart-ready services: concrete functions that demonstrate how intelligently a building manages its systems. Within the cooling domain, there are ten services, each with its own functionality levels from 0 to 4.
Some examples: control of cooling output per room, preventing heating and cooling from working against each other (interlock), and management of thermal energy storage. Reporting on performance and flexibility towards the electricity grid are also included.
For buildings with building automation and control systems (BACS) above 290 kilowatts, this may sometimes apply to this building type. From late 2024 onwards, building automation is mandatory above that threshold.
What does this mean for a municipal portfolio?
A municipality typically manages not a single building but a whole series of properties of different ages and with different systems. A portfolio approach therefore works better than individual assessments per property.
The exemplary function of public buildings plays a role here. Many municipalities also have reporting obligations on energy performance, and there are often subsidy opportunities for improving building automation.
The Smart Readiness Indicator is currently voluntary. The European Commission must adopt a delegated act by 30 June 2027 that is expected to make the SRI mandatory for utility buildings with systems above 290 kilowatts.
What this means for you
- Owner
- As an owner of municipal property, map which functionality level the cooling systems in your portfolio currently have, per building and collectively. This provides insight into where investments in building automation will have the greatest impact, particularly with regard to the expected mandatory requirement from 2027 onwards.
- Tenant
- As a user of a town hall, library or community centre, you primarily notice the indoor climate: a room that feels neither too cold nor too warm, even when occupancy varies. Intelligent cooling control per room ensures that energy is not wasted when a space is empty.
- Advisor
- When assessing, pay attention to the varying operating hours within the portfolio: a theatre requires different control than a library. Also check whether interlock between heating and cooling is present, as this prevents unnecessary energy consumption and counts heavily in the score.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?