Assessment service helping local authorities design and implement retrofit programmes

A tool to provide local authorities with a plan to identify their least cost route to Net Zero.
Climate Change Mitigation Advancing Net Zero

Problem Addressed

The solution works with local authorities and landlords to develop cost-effective retrofit programmes that meet their cost, comfort and carbon goals. Without having data ready, and the software to model it, local authorities are missing opportunities to bid for funding, to target that funding where it is most needed, and gain efficiencies from layering with other investment.

The solution is not a replacement for in-house assessment, but gives local authorities the ability to plan works at scale and target in-house surveys accordingly, whether that is to move forward with a PAS2035 retrofit assessment or simply collect more data to improve decision-making; and to track progress.

Solution Overview

Pathways generates a detailed view of the current and potential energy performance of every home, and tests retrofit options against a range of metrics and within the different constraints facing different retrofit programmes. It aims to solve three core challenges:

  1. Pathways gives users access to data. A full dataset is prepared for every home in the area, from a combination of open data and Ordnance Survey data. Layering on local conservation area boundaries helps further understand the potential of every home.
  2. Pathways tests options for every home, in any scenario. Without having data ready, and the software to model it, local authorities are missing opportunities to bid for funding, to target that funding where it is most needed, and gain efficiencies from layering with other investment.
  3. Pathways reduces uncertainty by working with a full dataset for every home, and addressing gaps in the RdSAP methodology through updates to measures, pricing and carbon factors.

Parity Projects’ housing stock assessment service, Pathways, helps local authorities design and implement strategic retrofit programmes for their housing stock. Local authorities covering 17 million homes now use the service.

Key to the service is its modelling capability. As well as reporting on baseline performance and identifying all potential measures for each property and across the stock, Pathways tests user-defined investment scenarios. These can:

  • Seek the most cost-effective ways of reaching energy targets, such as minimum SAP rating, demand reduction or carbon emissions, across all stock or a specified group.
  • Model the effect of a planned policy or programme.
  • Calculate SAP, EI, fuel bill, heat demand reduction and CO2 savings for all options and scenarios evaluated.

The service is a standalone solution, working with other services as required.

Baseline analysis costs from £2,500 for a local authority. Pathways costs from £4,000 for a local authority.

Company name

Parity Projects

UK availability

Yes

Solution launch date

2019

Links

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Case Study

Case study 1: London Boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth successfully bid for funding from the Government to provide support with energy efficiency and low-carbon heating to low income households in the most energy-inefficient homes. To be eligible, households must:

  • Have a household income of £30,000 or less.
  • Live in a property with an EPC rating of E, F or G (the three lowest ratings).

Using Pathways introductory Baseline service, the Councils were able to tailor their focus to 2,000 homes, from an original list of 15,000, to reduce the costs of the mailout and improve the quality of the information that could be provided to residents.

Case study 2: Greater Manchester Combined Authority required an evidence base and decision support tool to develop business cases to unlock investment opportunities for domestic retrofit. Parity Projects used its Pathways service to assess the need and potential for retrofit in GMCA’s 1.2 million homes. It used address-level energy performance data, real-world pricing, and the ability to test 3,000 different interventions in scenarios constrained by planning restrictions, budget and the clients’ preferred measures. It then reported on the baseline performance, and potential costs and benefits of ‘net zero’ retrofit, by local authority area. This has formed the basis of ongoing strategic development and planning by the Authority.

Facts and Figures

£4,000

Cost of Pathways for a local authority.

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