Wales & West Utilities partners with Exeter City Council to decarbonise social housing
- The 2050 Energy Pathfinder tool, developed by Wales & West Utilities (WWU), helps Local Authorities model future energy scenarios based on supply and demand data available both locally and nationally
- Working with Exeter City Council, WWU will be developing a new version of Pathfinder to support social housing landlords to decarbonise their housing stock
- The project will give a better understanding of decarbonisation options, helping to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions for customers and housing providers
Wales & West Utilities has announced plans to develop its Pathfinder toolkit model with Exeter City Council to better support social housing providers to decarbonise their stock.
The existing Pathfinder toolkit is a unique tool that models future whole energy supply and demand. It works out opportunities, risks and trade-offs when designing an energy system of the future at local, regional and national levels.
Whilst most housing stock models annualize energy demands, Pathfinder is unique as it considers the impact of energy savings measures on an hourly basis alongside the gas and electricity network demands. Building on the existing toolkit, this hour-by-hour view will help social landlords better understand where their costs and emissions are coming from.
Emissions from home heating and cooking account for around 30% of total UK emissions. Decarbonising housing is a key challenge in delivering net zero, due to the complexities of interactions between various initiatives and measures, including energy efficiency, changing heating systems and wider decarbonisation of supply.
Commenting on this partnership, Matthew Hindle, Head of Net Zero & Sustainability at WWU, said: “Decarbonising domestic heating is a critical step on the journey to Net Zero, but with action needed in almost every home in the country it’s one of the toughest challenges we face.
“We are excited to be working with Exeter City Council on plans for decarbonising their housing stock. Our unique approach, using our Pathfinder toolkit, will help social landlords to easily assess the benefits of different decarbonisation measures across their housing portfolio.
“We are proud to be part of this important project, supporting social landlords to make informed choices with regards to their investments in energy and potential cost saving measures.”
Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night.