School · Electricity
Electricity in school: 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 Electricity domain counts toward the Smart Readiness Indicator for schools.
- 2This domain weighs 1 of the 3 key functionalities for this building type, less heavily than heating and ventilation.
- 3Schools often have older installations and limited budgets, so prioritising electricity services makes sense.
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 | at least level 1 |
| 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 | at least level 1 |
| 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 | at least level 1 |
| Reporting information regarding electricity consumption E-12 · A · 5 levels | None | Real-time feedback or benchmarking on appliance level with automated personalized recommendations | at least level 1 |
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).
What does the Electricity domain mean for a school?
The Electricity domain within the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) concerns the power supply of a building. Think of solar panels, batteries, shifting energy use to cheap or sustainable hours, and responding to signals from the electricity grid.
For schools, this domain carries relatively light weight: 1 of the 3 key functionalities. The reason lies in usage patterns. Schools have fixed timetables and long holidays, so heating and ventilation have more influence on comfort and energy use than electricity flexibility.
Which smart-ready services count?
Within this domain, seven smart-ready services are assessed. Each service has functionality levels from 0, meaning no functionality, to 4, the highest level, often with predictive management.
- E-2: reporting on local electricity generation, for example from solar panels.
- E-3: storage of locally generated electricity, such as a battery.
- E-4: optimisation of self-consumption of generated electricity.
- E-5: control of a combined heat and power installation, an installation that generates both heat and electricity at the same time.
- E-8: support for microgrid operation, where a building can exchange electricity with its surroundings.
- E-11: reporting on the state of charge of energy storage.
- E-12: reporting on electricity consumption, from building level to appliance level.
Not every school has all installations. Services such as combined heat and power control (E-5) apply only if such an installation is present. If the installation is absent, the service does not count toward the score.
What does this mean in practice for schools?
Many schools have older installations with time clocks, without connection to current energy availability. A simple first step is reporting of electricity consumption (E-12) at building level, which provides insight without major investment.
Schools with solar panels can gain from E-2 and E-4: insight into generation and smarter direction of consumption toward times of their own generation. Given the limited budgets of many schools, it is worthwhile to prioritise services that align with existing installations.
What this means for you
- Owner
- As a school board or building owner, it is wise first to check which electricity supplies are already present, such as solar panels, before investing in new systems. Because this domain carries less weight for schools than heating and ventilation, it is more efficient to invest first in those domains and treat electricity as a second step.
- Tenant
- Pupils and teachers notice little directly from this domain, because it mainly operates behind the scenes in the power supply. Users do benefit indirectly, for example through lower energy costs that free up resources for education itself.
- Advisor
- Check first during assessment which electricity installations are physically present, because services such as combined heat and power control (E-5) count only if the installation exists. When giving advice, account for the low weighting of this domain for schools and direct recommendations primarily at heating and ventilation, with electricity as an additional opportunity.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?