Sports facility · Cooling
Cooling in sports facility: 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 the Cooling domain counts towards the Smart Readiness Indicator for sports facilities.
- 2Sports halls and swimming pools typically have less cooling demand than offices, but pools require substantial energy for dehumidification and hot water.
- 3The Cooling domain carries light weight for this building type, with a weighting factor of 1 on a scale from 0 to 3.
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 | at least level 1 |
| 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 | at least level 1 |
| 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 | at least level 1 |
| 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) | 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 16 percentage points (from 30 to 46 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does cooling count for sports facilities?
Sports halls and swimming pools are primarily driven by ventilation, heating and hot water. Cooling plays a smaller role than in office buildings, for example. Yet the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) includes this domain because some sports facilities do have cooling installations, such as in catering areas or technical rooms.
The weighting factor for this domain is 1 on a scale from 0 to 3. This means cooling counts lightly towards the total score, especially compared with domains that carry more weight for this building type, such as ventilation or heating.
Which smart-ready services are assessed?
Within the Cooling domain, the SRI evaluates multiple smart-ready services. Think of regulating cooling output per room, temperature control of the chilled water network and control of distribution pumps. Each service has functionality levels from 0 to 4, where a higher level means more automation and communication with the building management system (BMS).
An important service is the interlock, which prevents heating and cooling from working against each other in the same room. For sports facilities with separate zones, such as a sports hall next to a swimming pool, this can be relevant when both systems are located close together.
Control of the cooling generator and sequencing of multiple cooling machines are also assessed. For buildings without active cooling, these services automatically score at the lowest level, which keeps the total weight of the domain limited.
What does this mean for the score?
Because the weighting factor is low, cooling has less influence on the final score than domains such as heating or ventilation. For a swimming pool with heat recovery and air handling, the biggest improvement opportunities typically lie elsewhere.
Yet a sports facility with office or catering areas can certainly benefit from smart cooling control. In that case, a higher functionality level in this domain raises the total score, though the effect remains limited by the light weighting.
What this means for you
- Owner
- As owner of a sports facility, it is useful to know that investments in smart cooling control contribute less to the overall SRI score than improvements in heating or ventilation. Focus attention first on the domains that carry greater weight, unless the facility has separate areas with significant cooling demand.
- Tenant
- A tenant or user of a sports hall or swimming pool notices little of the Cooling domain, as this building type typically operates on heating and ventilation. Comfort in changing rooms or catering areas can depend on how well cooling is controlled in those spaces.
- Advisor
- In the assessment, it is important to establish whether the sports facility has active cooling at all, and if so, in which spaces. For swimming pools, pay attention to the relationship between dehumidification and cooling, as these systems can influence each other without this being directly visible in the Cooling domain.
Next step
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