The EU buildings directive: what it requires for building automation and monitoring
The EPBD recast makes building automation an obligation for large non-residential buildings, then for lower thresholds in 2029. What it means for a facility manager.
Directive (EU) 2024/1275 on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD, in its recast version) places automation and monitoring of technical systems among the levers for decarbonizing the building stock. For an owner or manager of commercial buildings, it turns good practice into a regulatory deadline. Member States must transpose it; national terms need checking country by country.
The automation and control obligation (BACS)
According to summaries of the directive (REHVA, OneClickLCA), non-residential buildings whose combined rated output of heating, cooling or ventilation exceeds 290 kW must be equipped with building automation and control systems (deadline end of 2024), with the threshold dropping to 70 kW by end of 2029, where technically and economically feasible. These systems must enable continuous monitoring, analysis and adjustment of consumption per technical system. The recast also extends requirements to lighting control in some cases.
The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI)
The SRI is an index assessing a building's "smartness" — its ability to adapt to occupants' needs, the grid and available energy — from some fifty services, with a rating from A to G. The Commission must establish a common scheme by delegated act; analyses indicate it would become mandatory for large non-residential buildings (the same 290 kW threshold). The precise calendar depends on upcoming acts.
What it changes for a manager
- An inventory of what exists: installed power per system, whether monitoring is present, protocols used.
- A trajectory per site by threshold: a multi-site estate will have different deadlines depending on each building's output.
- Monitoring that produces action, not just curves: detecting setpoint drift, equipment running outside occupancy, gaps between expected and actual consumption.
- Interoperability: a building often mixes several generations of equipment and protocols. An open architecture limits dependence on a single supplier and eases evolution.
The link with security
A remotely supervised building is an exposed IT system: network segmentation rules, separate accounts, updates and logging are essential. The same principles as in industry apply (see our article on OT security), and installed connected products also fall under cyber-resilience requirements.
Where to start
Begin with inventory and measurement: without reliable metering by use, you know neither where to act nor how to demonstrate a gain. Then prioritize the systems that weigh most (heating, ventilation, cooling), and extend. The technical detail — which quantities to measure, why per-use metering changes everything, which protocols — is on the smart energy sensors page; the whole ties back to our smart-building offers presented on the Solutions page.
This article is general information; thresholds, exceptions and transposition dates must be checked in the applicable national law.
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Frequently asked questions
What automation does the EPBD directive require?
Non-residential buildings whose combined rated output for heating, cooling or ventilation exceeds 290 kW must be fitted with building automation and control systems, with the threshold dropping to 70 kW by end-2029 where technically and economically feasible. Transposition details must be checked in the applicable national law.
What is the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI)?
An index rating a building's ability to adapt to occupant needs, to the grid and to available energy, based on around fifty services, scored from A to G. Its common scheme is to be established by a delegated act of the Commission; the precise timetable depends on those acts.
Where should a multi-building portfolio start?
With inventory and measurement: installed power per system, whether supervision exists, and which protocols are in use. Deadlines differ per building according to power, so the trajectory is built site by site, prioritising the systems that weigh most.
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