As the UK accelerates investment in energy efficiency upgrades across social housing, attention is increasingly focused on how retrofit and heating system upgrades can reduce energy bills while supporting wider net zero ambitions. However, despite this momentum, a critical challenge still persists.
Within social housing, concerns remain that energy efficiency improvements could unintentionally lead to higher rents or increased costs, rather than delivering meaningful savings.
These perceptions can influence engagement with otherwise well-intentioned programmes, which are crucial to helping an estimated 9.4% of households (2.36 million) still in fuel poverty in England alone.
At the heart of this issue is a wider challenge around visibility and communication. Without clear, accessible insight into energy use and the impact of upgrades, providers can face difficulties in demonstrating value and building confidence in the measures being delivered.
BIG OPPORTUNITY
As the sector becomes increasingly data-led, there is a growing opportunity for more informed decision-making.
This will enable providers and stakeholders to better understand property performance, target interventions more effectively, and support clearer engagement with residents.
TRUST IN PROGRESS
Trust remains a key barrier to effective fuel poverty interventions in social housing – and is often the determining factor in whether retrofit schemes succeed or fail.
One of the key and growing challenges for providers is ensuring residents believe that retrofit programmes will genuinely reduce bills rather than increase costs elsewhere.
Often, the perception around the cost and subsequent impact on rent can influence how much or little they engage with retrofit programmes.
As such, there needs to be clarity from the outset over how the changes will improve their circumstances in the long run. If housing associations send in retrofit teams with little explanation, and those teams cause disruption and, in the worst case scenario, do a poor job, programmes end up getting knocked back even more.
LONG-TERM COLLABORATION
That’s why residents need to buy into the changes, and that comes from engaging them fully and sensitively in the process to build long-term collaboration.
However, this is not solely a communication challenge – it is also driven by a lack of clear, accessible visibility over how energy use, cost and emissions are actually changing.
CLEARER ENERGY INSIGHT
If providers are to build more transparent decision-making, then clearer energy insight is integral.
The problem is the technical requirements for smart meter data set out in the government’s policy framework are over 15 years old and not fit for purpose – they impede providers’ ability to show residents how schemes are helping, and also the resident’s ability to see this directly for themselves.
These specifications need to be modernised. They also need to ensure that smart meter data isn’t just going to energy suppliers, who, naturally, aren’t as incentivised for people to use less energy. Instead, let’s put data in the hands of the people who could benefit from it.
That means rolling out devices that are able to share really important metrics like temperature and humidity data with residents and providers.
This data can then be shared across the whole of the UK, providing an insight into property energy use on a macro scale to drive policy decisions, as well as help the uptake of retrofit upgrades on a property-by-property basis.
IMPROVING DATA CONFIDENCE
Concerns around rent rises, unclear savings and limited visibility into energy usage continue to impact engagement with fuel poverty initiatives, highlighting the need for clearer communication and better access to data.
Data-led approaches are crucial to improving targeting, communication and confidence in energy efficiency schemes.
If consumers can see how their energy use is contributing to cost savings on a more granular level, they will be more open to retrofit programmes taking place. Likewise, landlords investing tens of thousands of pounds into work to reach the EPC C threshold will want to know that their investment is actually contributing to higher levels of energy efficiency.
On a wider scale, housing associations and councils can use this data to see what areas are in need of targeting and have the evidence to communicate the benefits of the schemes. All of this builds confidence across stakeholders.
Of course, cash-strapped councils are in real need of more funding.
But that only makes innovative and collaborative solutions all the more important.
By using data to communicate the benefits of programmes that are designed to tackle fuel poverty, providers can build trust amongst residents, and make more informed investment decisions. In turn, this enables more effective interventions, better-targeted improvements, and more sustainable reductions in fuel poverty.
And as that trust grows, providers will be better placed to scale successful interventions, strengthen housing stock performance, and deliver lasting improvements in energy affordability for residents.
