Energy Saving Trust’s proprietary housing stock database covers 27 million properties in Great Britain, incorporating 120 variables for each site, from type of home and tenure to suitability for renewable energy systems and risk of fuel poverty.
Launched in 2013, Home Analytics also includes geographical identifiers allowing data aggregation at levels from small area upwards. The primary data source is Energy Performance Certificate records. Other datasets include the Home Energy Efficiency Database, managed by Energy Saving Trust and incorporating 10 million records, and the Home Energy Check tool used by householders to improve their energy profile. Land Registry and Ordnance Survey records add to the picture.
Home Analytics pools datasets to create as complete a profile as possible for as many properties as possible, then builds models from the data to fill in the gaps. Sean Lemon, data manager, said: “Our tool combines known data from trusted sources with modelled data that is predictive. Over several development cycles we’ve fine-tuned the logic of our modelling to maximise its accuracy.”
Energy Saving Trust provides Home Analytics to all local authorities in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government for use in multiple contexts from retrofit planning to fuel poverty tracking. In England and Wales, local and regional councils access reports, maps and data on a commercial basis to assess the condition of their housing stock.
Jamie Browne, business development manager, said: “Local authorities can baseline their housing stock as part of their commitment to confronting the climate emergency. Our new Portfolio Energy Assessment Tool (PEAT) analyses the raw data to identify actions needed at a particular address to help meet climate objectives.”
For any business looking to provide an energy saving product or service, Home Analytics works as lead-generating tool geared to best practice. “It’s important,” says Jamie, “that householders don’t end up with a product they don’t need. We want them to have the smartest advice they can get.”