The last release of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018/844/EU stated that smart buildings will play a crucial role in the future energy systems. Consequently, the Directive introduced the Smart Readiness Indicator in order to provide a common framework to highlight the value of building smartness across Europe. The methodology for the calculation of the Smart Readiness Indicator is currently under development and therefore not yet officially adopted at the European Union level. In this context, the current research analyzed the second public release of the proposed methodology, discussing the feasibility of its implementation and the obtained results through a practical application. Specifically, the methodology was applied to a nearly zero-energy office building located in Italy, and the evaluation was carried out in parallel by two different expert groups composed by researchers and technical building systems specialists. With the aim of analyzing the impact of subjective evaluations on the calculated indicator, a two-step assessment was adopted: in a first phase the two groups worked separately, and only in a second phase they were allowed to compare results, discuss discrepancies and identify the difficulties in applying the methodology. As the main outcome of this research, a set of recommendations are presented for an effective broad implementation of the Smart Readiness Indicator, able to increase the relevance of its evaluation and effectiveness, as well as to enhance the comparability of smart readiness of buildings through the definition of benchmarks and to integrate with other measurable key indicators, especially concerning energy flexibility.

Building envelopes can play a crucial role in building improvement efficiency, and the adoption of Phase Change Materials (PCMs), coupled with transparent elements, may: (i) allow a better control of the heat flows from/to the outdoor environment, (ii) increase the exploitation of solar energy at a building scale and (iii) modulate light transmission in order to prevent glare effects. Starting from a literature review, focused on experimental works, this research identifies the main possible integrations of PCMs in transparent/translucent building envelope components (in glazing, in shutters and in multilayer façade system) in order to draw a global picture of the potential and limitations of these technologies. Transparent envelopes with PCMs have been classified from the simplest “zero” technology, which integrates the PCM in a double glass unit (DGU), to more complex solutions—with a different number of glass cavities (triple glazed unit TGU), different positions of the PCM layer (internal/external shutter), and in combination with other materials (TIM, aerogel, prismatic solar reflector, PCM curtain controlled by an electric pump). The results of the analysis have been summarised in a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis table to underline the strengths and weaknesses of transparent building envelope components with PCMs, and to indicate opportunities and threats for future research and building applications.