Problem Addressed

68% of the UK’s homes are below the recommended EPC rating of C. By raising the 19 million homes that currently have a D rating up to C, we could decrease the UK’s demand for gas by 20%. The home improvements required to achieve this begin with an accurate evaluation of the home’s existing condition and work required. Homeowners must understand their current energy use and have access to guidance on the changes required to save money, energy, and reduce emissions.

Solution Overview

The Home Energy Efficiency Tool (HEET) by Energy Saving Trust is an online service which uses a market leading calculation engine to provide unique energy efficiency advice to customers. The tool first asks questions about your home. While not all information is required, more details provide a more accurate result. Next, an extensive reference database is used to fill in any missing information and model possible combinations to provide a tailored action plan. This plan will identify the most cost-effective solutions to save energy and make your home more efficient. HEET uses the most up-to-date and verified data and can provide customers with their potential monthly and annual bill savings as well as potential carbon savings. Lastly, the tool can show a homeowner’s EPC rating with details on how they can improve it.

HEET is available as an API or can be hosted on other websites, providing companies with a method for supporting their customers with energy efficiency action plans specific to their homes. The tool’s interface is simple and easy to use, increasing customer engagement and retention. By lowering their bills and emissions, homeowners gain access to potentially lower mortgage rates through green mortgages and higher home resale values all while doing their part to help the UK reach net-zero. HEET is available as a bespoke solution for companies to meet a variety of budgets.

Case Study

The Home Energy Efficiency Tool was used to create a bespoke software product for B&Q to help its customers calculate the energy efficiency of their homes and plan improvements. The tool creates a unique action plan for each home considering their chosen budget. The most effective home improvements including renewable energy installations are included in the suggestions based on how cost-effective they would be. B&Q then uses the improvements proposed by HEET and matches customers with their relevant products, chosen partners, and installation services. Specific recommendations may include the installation of loft insulation or solar PV panels or replacing an old boiler with a more efficient model. So far, B&Q has used HEET to provide tailored advice to more than 1,600 of its customers.

More information on this case study can be found at the link below.

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