Are We Ready to Evaluate the Smart Readiness of Australian Buildings?

Digital innovation is leading to a greater uptake of smart technologies in the building industry. Smart systems can reduce the built environment carbon footprint, improve occupant productivity and enable buildings to participate in managing the electricity network. However, their deployment poses significant challenges, given the heterogeneity of hardware and software in the building environment. Different research approaches have attempted to quantify the preparedness of buildings to facilitate new technologies that improve their performance, while maintaining occupant comfort and allowing optimal delivery of each building’s particular service. One prominent approach is the European Commission’s Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI). In this paper, we explore how well the SRI applies to Australian buildings by considering a case study building. Our analysis shows that building services need to be carefully chosen to ensure that they are relevant. We therefore advocate adjustment of weighting factors that consider climatic conditions and suitable domains such as heating or cooling. On the basis of our findings, we provide recommendations for adopting the SRI in Australian buildings.