The SRI was introduced in the European policy landscape through the Directive amending the Energy Performance of Buildings (2018/844/EU). The directive sent a strong political message about the EU’s commitment to modernise its building sector in the light of technological improvements and the urgent requirement to increase the current rate of building renovations.
The SRI concept was further developed through technical studies, carried out on behalf of the European Commission, involving a broad range of stakeholders from the building sector. The final report on the technical support to the development of a smart readiness indicator for buildings (September 2020) provides additional context on the SRI concept.
The generic, EU-level technical framework of the SRI, which had been designed after extensive Europe-wide stakeholder consultations, may be subject to improvements following the feedback from the official test phases carried out in EU countries, the activities of the LIFE projects and of other stakeholders. The SRI platform was set up in December 2021 to facilitate exchanges between EU countries and stakeholders on various aspects of the SRI, including potential fine-tuning of the generic technical framework. All stakeholders interested in following the evolutions of the SRI methodology are welcomed to join the plenary meetings of the SRI platform, which meets bi-annually.
Finally, national authorities may decide to define their specific national technical framework.
The Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2155 established the definition of the SRI and a common methodology by which it is to be calculated. Its annexes provide general principles about (among other things): the calculation of smart readiness scores, the weighting of impact criteria in key functionalities, the weighting of technical domains and the smart readiness rating. The contents of these annexes form the SRI legal framework.
The SRI technical framework consists in a catalogue of smart-ready services (including mandatory and optional services) functionality levels and weighting factors. A generic, EU-level technical framework has been developed based on the outcomes of a technical study on the SRI carried out in 2019-2020 (see chapter 1 of the Final report on the technical support to the development of a smart readiness indicator for buildings). It can be provided upon request by filling this form (calculation sheet and practical guide). This video provides a live demonstration of using the calculation sheet of the generic, EU-level technical framework with practical examples.
EU countries, when testing or implementing the SRI, may adapt the generic, EU-level technical framework in order to take into account their national specificities.