The Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry of Cyprus has announced its intention to introduce on the island a common scheme of optional rating of buildings' suitability for smart technologies based on the Smart Readiness indicator, which is already being actively used in many EU countries.
Cyprus may become the ninth country that will encourage the reduction of energy consumption by buildings.
Studies are expected to start soon on the island, involving a team of technical consultants consisting of employees of the Ministry, Frederick University, as well as technology companies Euphyia Tech Ltd and CyRIC Ltd. For 9 months, the average intelligence levels of buildings in Cyprus will be determined and a categorization of their intelligence scores will be proposed, depending on the automation and control systems they are equipped with. This initiative is very important for the promotion and creation of smart buildings and smart cities in Cyprus.
European Union has developed and approved a methodology that defines the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI).
The SRI indicator contains information about the quality condition of the building object and plays an essential role in obtaining an energy efficiency certificate for the building. The building intelligence rating system was established by the European Commission in 2018 based on the European Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings.
The rating is based on an assessment of the potential to be able to manage the building and/or its parts according to the needs of the occupants or employees to improve energy efficiency and reduce the total energy consumption of the building, as well as to improve the quality of the microclimate and the health of the occupants or employees.
The SRI indicator takes into account opportunities for increasing energy savings, the results of comparative analysis of real energy consumption and benchmarks, and the functionality of the building management system using smart devices. The SRI indicator assessment methodology also considers the specifics of smart meters for energy consumption, automated building management systems and engineering systems, smart devices for maintaining indoor air temperature at a given level, equipment and household appliances, recharging points for electric vehicles, energy storage, as well as the benefits of their use for maintaining indoor climate, energy efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and other energy saving measures.
The SRI assessment methodology also takes into account national specifics of occupant or employee use, data protection, privacy, and security.