Written By Aidan Bennett
Fast forward to 2050, heat pumps quietly warm homes, while newly insulated buildings keep their occupants cosy using far less energy. This isn’t just a dream – it’s the transformation we’re actively planning through Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP). Decarbonising our heating systems is one of our greatest infrastructure challenges. It requires keeping millions warm while fundamentally transforming how we deliver that warmth.
Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs) offer a robust foundation for guiding retrofit initiatives, tailored to meet the specific energy demands, infrastructure, and housing characteristics of each community. Through detailed, data-driven analysis, LAEPs enable councils and planners to prioritise and implement retrofit projects.
Earlier this year, City Science delivered 3 LAEPs for the South West Wales region. The following images taken from Swansea’s Local Area Energy plan highlight some of the data-driven insights we were able to generate through multiple data sets, including EPC data, household gas-provision, deprivation ranking, and street-by-street analysis of domestic energy demand
Identification of retrofit focus zones shows where practical action will be targeted first and enables funding identification for shallow and deep retrofits. We can identify properties that are ready for immediate transition to low-carbon heating systems, while simultaneously developing targeted retrofit programmes for buildings that need preparation. These series of actions form part of the action roadmap which sets out a series of near, mid, and long-term targets.
Technical solutions alone won’t drive this transformation. Success requires robust delivery mechanisms and comprehensive support structures. City Science are continuing to develop and embrace the role that One Stop Shops will have in the transition to low-energy buildings. Through work with DESNZ as part of the Heat Pump Ready Projects, we understand the importance of providing a comprehensive solution which encompasses community engagement, technical assessments, funding guidance, contractor coordination, and quality assurance to create an area-based approach that builds community confidence while enabling efficient delivery at scale.
The future of local energy systems demands holistic thinking and integrated planning, a challenge that becomes increasingly complex when confronted with the UK’s aging and fragmented infrastructure. Heat networks and localised energy solutions offer promising alternatives, but their effectiveness depends on our ability to fundamentally redesign and upgrade existing infrastructure. The transition is not just technological, but a complete reimagining of how we generate, distribute, and consume energy.
As we develop energy strategies across Britain, how can we ensure our retrofit strategies effectively address both building-level improvements and the wider infrastructure challenges of our aging energy networks?
At City Science we are continuing to explore innovative methods of energy analysis and delivery for retrofit and beyond. If you would like to find out more about LAEP’s or some of our current retrofit innovation projects, please head to our website: https://cityscience.com/case-study