Building type
Office: what the SRI measures
What the Smart Readiness Indicator measures in a office, which domains weigh heavily and where the first points are.
In short
- 1Offices often have variable occupancy and centralized ventilation systems, which makes the Smart Readiness Indicator relevant.
- 2Ventilation, lighting, and cooling carry significant weight in the score, each with a weighting factor of 3 out of 9 domains.
- 3Many offices exceed the 290 kW HVAC capacity threshold, meaning building automation is already mandatory and the SRI is expected to become relevant.
Which domains weigh heavily
- Heatingheavy
- Coolingheavy
- Ventilationheavy
- Lightingheavy
- Monitoring and controlheavy
- Dynamic building envelopemedium
- Electricitymedium
- Electric vehicle chargingmedium
- Domestic hot waterlight
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Characteristics of this building type
- Occupancy varies by day and hour
- Lighting and ventilation are the biggest consumers after climate
- Often a building management system, not always well tuned
- Car park with charging demand
Why is the Smart Readiness Indicator relevant for offices?
An office experiences large fluctuations in occupancy, both by day and by hour. On Monday morning a floor is full, on Friday afternoon nearly empty. The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) measures how well a building can respond to such fluctuations.
The SRI examines nine domains, from heating to monitoring and control. For offices, ventilation, lighting, and cooling carry the most weight, each with a weighting factor of 3. This is because these installations in offices are the largest energy consumers after climate control.
Which domains count most?
Heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, and monitoring and control each receive a weighting factor of 3. Hot water carries the least weight, with a weighting factor of 1, because it is used less in offices than in residences.
Dynamic building envelope, electricity, and electric vehicle charging receive a weighting factor of 2. Many offices have a parking garage or area with charging points, making this domain relevant to the score.
A building management system (BMS) is often already present in offices. Yet this system is not always properly calibrated to actual occupancy, which can result in a lower score for the monitoring and control domain than expected.
When does the SRI become mandatory for offices?
The SRI is currently voluntary, as set out in Article 15 of the EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive). The European Commission must adopt a delegated act by 30 June 2027 at the latest.
This delegated act is expected to make the SRI mandatory for non-residential buildings with HVAC capacity above 290 kW. Many offices fall into this category, because centralized ventilation and climate systems often exceed this capacity threshold.
Separate from the SRI, another obligation already applies. Building automation and control systems (BACS) have been mandatory for buildings above 290 kW since the end of 2024, and will apply to buildings above 70 kW from the end of 2029.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Have the building management system checked for proper calibration to actual occupancy, because a system that is present but poorly configured delivers a lower score than is achievable. A higher score on ventilation, lighting, and cooling carries significant weight, as these domains have a weighting factor of 3.
- Tenant
- A tenant will notice a properly configured building management system mainly through lighting and climate that adjust to actual occupancy per floor. With a higher Smart Readiness Indicator score, there is less risk of an office that remains lit and heated all day while unoccupied.
- Advisor
- First establish whether HVAC capacity exceeds 290 kW, because if so, building automation is already mandatory and the Smart Readiness Indicator is expected to become relevant from 2027 onwards. Then focus specifically on calibration of the building management system for the domains of ventilation, lighting, cooling, and monitoring and control, since these domains together determine the largest share of the score.
Next step
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