# The Smart Buildings Revolution: A Comprehensive Review of the Smart Readiness Indicator Literature
## 4 Results and Discussion
### Research Gaps and Future Directions in the SRI's Dominant Themes
#### 4.2.4 Research Gap in The SRI as a Tool for Smart Retrofitting  
Future research on the SRI highlights the need to refine its methodology, incorporating multi-objective optimization to balance energy efficiency, cost, and comfort in retrofitting. [PERSON] et al. [38] proposed several future research directions for enhancing the SRI. First, there is a need for further development and studies to comprehensively consider all the pertinent aspects and address challenges associated with the SRI. Second, future research could explore integrating SRI improvement as one of the retrofitting objectives in multi-objective optimization studies, alongside factors such as thermal comfort, energy saving, cost, and environmental impacts. This involves formulating a multi-objective selection strategy, where retrofit measures are selected based on their efficacy in improving the SRI. Therefore, future research efforts could focus on refining the methodological framework of the SRI and incorporating it into multi-objective optimization studies to optimize building retrofit strategies effectively.  
[PERSON] et al. [63] provided further research directions to improve the SRI methodology, including analyzing prevalent automation systems, defining reference buildings, updating domains, and promoting SRI adoption. They also recommended evaluating national SRI implementation and conducting feasibility studies for smart refurbishment interventions.  
The future research directions highlighted by [PERSON] et al. [62] focus on the need for research to investigate the cost-effectiveness of different smart technologies in retrofitting buildings, taking into account factors such as the building typology and year of construction. Second, further studies should explore how user-specified indicator weights affect the SRI, considering the operational characteristics and technical aspects of buildings.  
Continuous research and development are essential to enhance the efficacy of emerging and sustainable technologies and their performance, ensuring their maximum potential in practical applications. [PERSON] et al. [29] noted that it is essential to consider the affordability and scalability of technologies to make them accessible across various building types and global climatic conditions. Buildings can achieve grid responsiveness, net-zero energy, and energy-efficient by integrating these technologies into their design and operation.  
To support the integration of smart solutions between buildings and neighborhoods, [PERSON] et al. [64] collected smart solutions presented in articles. They claimed that a significant obstacle to adopting the SRI is the absence of practical or illustrative examples that demonstrate the potential percentage reduction in energy consumption achievable through implementation of the automation checklist. The absence of a measurable assessment of the energy performance in smart buildings can lead to confusion and discouragement among stakeholders. Additionally, while the SRI emphasizes building-scale initiatives, there exist a wide array of smart solutions at larger scales that could enhance energy efficiency, integrate renewable energy, and address community needs. However, there is currently no technical benchmark akin to the SRI that effectively supports these intelligent initiatives at the community level in practical application [64].