Sports facility · Domestic hot water
Domestic hot water in sports facility: what the SRI measures
Domestic hot water covers the boiler or storage tank: is water heated on a fixed schedule or based on use, can the system use cheap electricity or solar heat, and is the circulation pump controlled smartly.
In short
- 1This page explains how the Smart Readiness Indicator assesses domestic hot water in sports facilities.
- 2For sports halls and swimming pools, this domain carries the highest possible weighting factor for this building type: 3 out of 3.
- 3The page describes five smart-ready services, from boiler control to performance reporting, and their functionality levels.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control of DHW storage charging (with direct electric heating or integrated electric heat pump) DHW-1a · A · 3 levels | Automatic control on / off | Automatic on/off control, scheduled charging enable and demand-based supply temperature control or multi-sensor storage management | highest level |
| Control of DHW storage charging DHW-1b · A · 3 levels | None | Automatic charging control based on local availability of renewables or information from electricity grid (DR, DSM) | highest level |
| Control of DHW storage charging (with solar collector and supplementary heat generation) DHW-1d · 4 levels | Manual selected control of solar energy or heat generation | Automatic control of solar storage charge (Prio. 1) and supplementary storage charge, demand-oriented supply and return temperature control and multi-sensor storage management | – |
| Sequencing in case of different DHW generators DHW-2b · 5 levels | Priorities only based on running time | Control according to dynamic priority list (based on current AND predicted load, energy efficiency, carbon emissions, capacity of generators AND external signals from grid) | – |
| Report information regarding domestic hot water performance DHW-3 · A · 5 levels | None | Performance evaluation including forecasting and/or benchmarking; also including predictive management and fault detection | highest level |
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 8 percentage points (from 31 to 39 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does domestic hot water count so heavily in sports facilities?
In sports halls and swimming pools, a large share of energy consumption goes to heating water. Showers after training sessions, pool water and humidity control demand continuous heat. The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI), the European measurement tool for a building's digital readiness, therefore assigns this domain the highest weighting factor: 3 out of 3 possible points.
This weighting means the domestic hot water score makes up a large part of a sports facility's overall SRI score. A building management system (BMS) that controls this effectively delivers relatively significant gains for the building's overall class.
Which smart-ready services belong to this domain?
The domestic hot water domain consists of multiple smart-ready services, each with its own functionality levels from 0 to 4. For sports facilities, five services are relevant.
- DHW-1a: control of domestic hot water storage charging with direct electric heating or an integrated heat pump.
- DHW-1b: storage charging control, with the highest level based on local renewable energy or electricity grid signals.
- DHW-1d: control combining solar collectors and backup heat generation, prioritising solar energy.
- DHW-2b: sequencing when a building has multiple domestic hot water generators, for example solar, ground source or a boiler.
- DHW-3: reporting on domestic hot water system performance, from current values to predictive management.
Each level represents a step in automation and control. The lowest level is often simple on/off switching, the highest level combines prediction, multiple data sources and external grid signals.
What does this mean for the building management system?
A swimming pool with only a timer for the boiler scores at the lowest level on most services in this domain. A sports hall with demand-driven charging control, prioritisation between heat sources and performance reporting scores significantly higher.
Because the weighting factor for this building type is at maximum, investment in smart domestic hot water control delivers relatively more benefit than for a building type where this domain carries lighter weight.
What this means for you
- Owner
- A municipality or operator of a sports facility should have existing domestic hot water system controls assessed against the five services mentioned. Because this domain carries the heaviest weight for sports facilities within the SRI, improvement here delivers relatively substantial gains for the overall score.
- Tenant
- Athletes and pool visitors rarely notice the control systems behind hot water directly, except that showers and pool water remain at constant temperature. A smarter system can help lower energy costs, which indirectly affects rental or usage fees.
- Advisor
- When assessing, note which heat sources are present (electric, heat pump, solar collector, multiple generators), as this determines which of the five services apply. Also check whether reporting function DHW-3 goes beyond current values, since predictive management delivers a significantly higher level than reading values alone.
Next step
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