Satellites can lead targeted retrofitting for Government’s £1bn ECO+ scheme

Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps announced a new £1 billion energy saving scheme, ECO+, on Monday, which will retrofit hundreds of thousands of homes with improved insulation to save consumers an estimated £310 per year.

According to Shapps, 80% of the funding will be aimed at the least energy efficient houses across the UK, those with an EPC rating of D or below. This comes ahead of a legal requirement for rental properties to be increased to EPC C or above by April 1^st, 2027.

Industry expert Anthony Baker, Founder and CEO of Earth Observation company Satellite Vu, believes that space data can play a vital role in helping the government to measure building stocks across the UK, supporting EPCs to identify the worst performing buildings to take targeted retrofitting action on. 

Baker said: “It is great to see the Business Secretary introducing the ECO+ scheme to cut down on energy wastage and reduce energy bills for consumers by improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s buildings, the oldest housing stock in Europe.”  

“The government’s allocation of funds towards the worst performing buildings, using EPC ratings, is an important step to achieving Net Zero targets, and this process can be supported by satellite technology, providing independently verifiable data to measure the energy wastage of buildings at any location across the country.” 

“Satellites can act as ‘thermometers in the sky’ to validate EPC measurements and provide an accurate representation of carbon emissions output in order to help local councils take targeted retrofitting action and reduce their energy wastage” he added.  

As part of the announcement, Shapps detailed a new £18 million public information campaign to provide advice for consumers to reduce their energy use whilst remaining warm this winter, with the aim of helping homes cut down on their energy bills.

The government’s advice includes reducing the temperature of water being sent from the boiler to radiators, draft proofing windows and doors, and turning down, or off, radiators in unused rooms.