**Extending the Application of the Smart Readiness Indicator–A Methodology for the Quantitative Assessment of the Load Shifting Potential of Smart Districts**

#### **Thomas Märzinger 1 and Doris Österreicher 2,\***


Received: 2 June 2020; Accepted: 3 July 2020; Published: 7 July 2020

**Abstract:** In 2018, the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) included for the first time the application of a smart readiness indicator (SRI). Based on the fact that load shifting in and across buildings plays an increasingly important role to improve efficiency and alleviate the integration of renewable energy systems, the SRI is also aimed at providing an indication of how well buildings can interact with the energy grids. With the clustering of buildings into larger entities, synergies related to the integration of renewable energy and load shifting can be efficiently exploited. However, current proposals for the SRI focus mainly on qualitative appraisals of the smartness of buildings and do not include the wider context of the districts. Quantitative approaches that can be easily applied at an early planning stage are still mostly missing. To optimize infrastructure decisions on a larger scale, a quantifiable perspective beyond the building level is necessary to evaluate and leverage the larger load shifting capacities. This article builds on a previously published methodology for smart buildings with the aim to provide a numerical model-based approach on the assessment of whole districts based on their overall energy storage capacity, load shifting potential and their ability to actively interact with the energy grids. It also delivers the equivalent CO2 savings potential compared to a non-interactive system. The methodology is applied to theoretical use cases for validation. The results highlight that the proposed quantitative model can provide a meaningful and objective assessment of the load shifting potentials of smart districts.

**Keywords:** smart buildings; smart districts; smart grids; smart readiness indicator; energy efficiency; energy performance of buildings directive; energy flexibility; load shifting; demand response
