Using real-world data to plan, prioritise and evaluate retrofit at scale

At this year’s elementalLONDON, three industry experts came together for a panel session on retrofit, sharing their updates and insights – and announcing an important new resource – that could help move the needle on the UK’s rate of retrofit. Rachel England reports.

The UK is currently retrofitting around 250,000 homes every year, falling significantly short of the one million per year needed by 2030 to meet government’s Net Zero ambitions. How we boost this low rate is an ongoing challenge for the sector, but there is industry-wide consensus that a major push is needed in scaling technologies, processes and workforce training to meet demand.

At the heart of all of this is data. Good quality data is the foundation of retrofit, enabling accurate targeting and prioritisation, informing interventions, supporting ongoing monitoring and developing the business case for retrofit works in the first place. But how can data be leveraged in real world applications to help achieve these goals?

SMETER introduces a new approach

The panel session offered a sneak peek at a new report – set to be published next week – that explores the impacts of better measurements and monitoring around retrofit using Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETER).

Developed by Arup in collaboration with the National Retrofit Hub, the publication builds on the existing ‘Measuring for Success’ report, and focuses on how traditional predictive modelling doesn’t capture data well enough to properly inform the trajectory of retrofit.

“Poor data doesn’t just impact which homes are chosen for retrofit, but also how they are retrofit,” said Tara Clinton, Associate at Arup. “The SMETER approach uses smart meters to provide data at a more accurate and granular level than the traditional measured HTC test.”

SMETER technologies typically use a combination of data and analysis methods, including smart meter data, internal temperature and humidity sensors, local weather data and advanced AI. Arup’s upcoming report demonstrates how SMETER has been shown to cost-effectively perform better than predictive models.

“This approach actually accounts for the behaviour of occupants and the performance of the home,” said Tara. “This enables more accurate decisions around ‘worst first’ prioritisation.”

Sign up to the National Retrofit Hub newsletter for first access to the report when it’s published.

Going deeper with smart meter data

There’s plenty of evidence highlighting the vital role smart meters have to play in scaling the retrofit ambition, but according to Matt James, Head of Policy & Innovation at Data Communications Company (DCC), this resource is being under-utilised.

“People assume smart meters simply collect information on energy consumption, but they actually relay some 500 types of messages and alerts – fully encrypted and decentralised,” said Matt. “We can use this data to infer a lot, from cases of fuel poverty to building fabric inadequacies.”

According to DCC – which acts as an enabler of data leveraging, supplying data to organisations that need it – the UK is around 70% of the way towards the government target of 100% smart meter rollout by 2030, but uptake is as low as 40% in some local authorities.

“The value of the data obtained from smart meters – totalling some three billion data transactions every month – is critical. This information can be used to support retrofit at every stage,” Matt continued, who noted that DCC is seeing a lot of industry innovation in this area, particularly from the public sector.

As such, DCC’s top priority remains ensuring the organisations that want this data can access it, and that its future license incorporates regulatory flexibility. Matt concluded: “Smart meter data has a key role to play in strategic planning, design and specification, and monitoring and reporting. Organisations have a valuable opportunity to leverage it in impactful ways.”

Quantifying efficiency co-benefits can spark investment

When it comes to the investment side of retrofit, developers and financers want hard numbers on ROI, but as Dr Steve Fawkes, Managing Partner at ep Group, noted, most energy savings are deemed savings based only on engineering design: “Efficiency is the absence of energy, so how can you really measure it?”

Without understanding the true value of this absence of energy, Steve explained, it’s extremely challenging to reduce the performance gap, invest appropriately and prove the value of energy efficiency co-benefits such as improved health outcomes and enhanced property values.

He points to the Open EE Meter, a powerful open-source tool used in the US to determine the value of an energy efficiency savings benefit. “This is being used to target investment in measures that have the most impact,” said Steve. “People are generally focused on the monetary payback of energy efficiency and forget about the co-benefits.”

Steve and his team have been working on a UK version of the tool – the Retrometer. Despite a lack of funding that has stalled the project, the research has confirmed that a more holistic measurement approach to energy efficiency leads to increased uplift in property value, health benefits, and – crucially – better forecasting, leading to reduced investment need.

“In a world still focused on ESG, this approach to valuing energy efficiency is vital,” said Steve. “Co-benefits are more valuable and strategic than we realise, and people are willing to buy strategic benefits, so there is a clear financial case here for this approach.”