SRI Demo – Demonstration of intelligent building technologies and support of the Austrian SRI test phase

On the basis of the “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package of measures from 2016 and the “European Green Deal” in the building sector, the European Commission (EC) is pushing for the integration of intelligent technologies with a high proportion of renewable energies and energy efficiency. The assessment of the “smart readiness” of a building using an indicator should also contribute to this in order to make it fit for the future requirements of renewable energy networks and the needs of the users.
With the last adaptation of the EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive), the European Commission introduced the so-called “Smart Readiness Indicator” (SRI) as an optional assessment of buildings in June 2018.

At the EU level, a resolution on the methodology of an SRI was passed at the end of December 2020 and came into force by regulation from January 1, 2021. This also started a 5-year test phase in which Austria has officially been participating since autumn 2021. In parallel, there is an EC ‘SRI platform’ for interested stakeholders.

Goals and innovation:
In a first step, measures that contribute to an optimized SRI will be demonstrated and tested in 8 demonstration buildings. The methodology currently proposed by the EC, as well as other possible indicators for assessing the “smart readiness” of buildings, will be evaluated in the Austrian context and under the Austrian regulatory framework. Based on the findings, an online platform for self-testing of buildings by stakeholders is to be developed, a methodology that is practical for Austria is to be found, and the SRI platform at EU level as well as its structure and activities are to be supported.

Desired results or findings:
“Smart” measures will be implemented in the demonstration buildings – on the one hand, calculation results for variants are collected, and on the other hand, practical insights into real measures are collected. Both the national and EU SRI methodology are being further developed, advantages and disadvantages are listed and tested in a specially developed online platform. The results are intended to be used to derive usable contributions for the EU’s SRI platform and to gain insights into the implementation of an SRI in the federal states. They serve as a basis for decision-making when defining an SRI for Austria and are used in national dissemination activities for market preparation.