Conclusions

The Good Economy's Reflections

Retrofitting the UK's existing building stock has proven to be one of the more difficult elements of the net zero agenda, particularly in terms of finding solutions and approaches that work at scale. Therefore, it is important to trial innovative solutions, including technology-led approaches, that can potentially reduce some of the barriers. This is especially important in the social housing sector, where residents are generally more vulnerable and more likely to be affected by fuel poverty.

This pilot project has demonstrated the potential for significant value generation through the type of data-led approach enabled by this technology, in terms of environmental, social and economic benefits. This includes potential household-level benefits for the residents themselves through improved living conditions and home comfort, and reduced fuel bills and energy consumption.

The project also points to potential macro-level benefits, for example making retrofit financially viable which otherwise may not have been, based on previous scope and costs, and the potential to free up balance sheet capacity for housing associations to invest in other areas, including the development of new homes.

There are also clearly potential implications for public policy resulting from the findings of this study, including for example, the nature and use of EPCs as a key guiding metric in this area, and for the future of public funding programmes such as WH:SHF.

Lastly, this pilot project has highlighted some important trade-offs between any potential environmental, social and economic benefits. These must be considered and priorities established with any future deployment of this type of technology.

Overall, noting the potential risks that exist with the deployment of any new type of technology, this pilot project has shown how improved data is one potential solution to tackling the challenges that have been faced in retrofitting our existing housing stock. Given the potential net benefits that could be delivered based on a technology-enabled, data-led approach, it is in the interests of all stakeholders in the sector to work together to trial wider adoption of this type of approach.

Yet with this, it is important to note that delivering positive change based on improved data is contingent on the technology being used and acted on appropriately, and the results being rigorously measured and shared. We hope that the Theory of Change, and the findings outlined in this report, can provide an effective framework to ensure that different organisations are held to account for delivering outcomes as these types of approaches are implemented on a wider basis.

Lloyds' Reflections

When I speak with leaders of housing associations across the UK, I'm struck by their level of ambition when it comes to engaging with the issue of retrofit. The sector increasingly views retrofit as both a challenge but also an enormous opportunity to build not only more homes, but better futures.

Notwithstanding the size of the sample, the outputs of this pilot point towards improved outcomes which, if scaled, have potentially positive implications for the optimisation of retrofit, including reduced costs, improved customer experiences and benefits for the environment.

However, this is just the beginning of a journey to understand how to best leverage technology and data into a scalable, cost-effective model that could benefit housing associations, like Bromford Flagship, across the country and the real estate industry as a whole.

As you'd expect, this pilot has shown that alongside potential benefits, there are some challenges, unique to the social housing sector, that need to be considered in parallel with any plan to scale an intelligent measured data-led approach to retrofit. Firstly, and crucially, data must be collected efficiently and handled responsibly. Liabilities created by hosting measured data need to be clear and possible benefits confirmed e.g. could measured data meeting industry standard metrics lead to a presumption that asset managers have fulfilled their regulatory responsibilities? Clarity on points like these will be needed if the sector is to fully embrace the benefits that this pilot indicates prop tech has to offer.

We hope the outputs of this pilot will provoke discussion and collaboration by key actors across the sector. The report also highlights the complexities of moving towards a low carbon economy whilst setting of broader sustainability ambitions.

For example, the goal of environmental performance can be framed in multiple ways – is it heat loss, carbon emissions reduction or net zero readiness? Likewise, when considering maximising social impact – is this achieved by lowering bills for the tenant, better living environment or air quality? If, as I suspect, it is a combination of all of the above, then prioritisation will be key.

The findings of this report should be encouraging to technology developers and the real estate sector in terms of showcasing how collaboration can simplify decarbonisation planning.

The ability of the sector to come together around a shared goal will be critical for resources and funding to be optimally deployed, giving us the best chance of accelerating towards net zero. It is possible that data and technology will sit at the heart of this.

We hope the findings presented in this report provide a helpful early blueprint for how to unlock the potential of intelligent measured data for smarter retrofit and better outcomes.

Chinyelu Oranefo
Managing Director, Sustainability Advisory, Real Estate & Housing
Lloyds Corporate & Institutional

Bromford Flagship's Reflections

The Senze Lloyds data-led retrofit pilot has demonstrated the potential of technology-enabled approaches to address the challenges of retrofitting the UK's housing stock. The project showed how improved use of data can deliver meaningful benefits at both household and sector levels, from reducing fuel bills and energy consumption to improving living conditions and home comfort. It also highlighted opportunities for wider-scale adoption in the social housing sector, where residents are most affected by fuel poverty. While careful consideration is needed to ensure that technology is used appropriately and outcomes are rigorously measured, this pilot underlines the importance of innovation, collaboration, and data-led solutions in accelerating progress toward net zero.

The future vision is to consider how we scale this through a place-based approach. With the continued support of Lloyds and Senze, Bromford Flagship can be sector leading, being able to build on the pilot's findings and to fully realise the benefits of data-led retrofit, helping to improve homes, reduce energy use, and support progress toward net zero at scale.

Michael Craggs
Development and Asset Management Innovation Lead
Bromford Flagship