Gerry Hogan, director at Collective Architecture, explores how data is key to delivering better, healthier homes, improving health outcomes and building resilience to energy price volatility
With energy bills expected to rise again this October, volatility has become a feature of the energy market, rather than an exception. Whether driven by geopolitical tensions, shifts in supply and demand, or increased energy consumption during periods of extreme weather, making our homes more resilient to rising energy costs remains a challenge.
Addressing these price shocks would be much easier if the housebuilding industry and policymakers had better information about the state of the nation’s housing stock, particularly its energy resilience. Yet the housing sector’s fragmented approach to data is hampering efforts to upgrade existing homes at scale, deliver climate-responsive new developments, and retrofit programmes effectively.
Data must be understood as essential infrastructure, an asset as foundational as roads or power lines.
Poor quality homes are a strategic weakness for any society, threatening to unsettle housing policy with inevitable consequences, not least for the most vulnerable. A coherent national approach to data – one built on shared standards, unified platforms and privacy safeguards – would empower councils and housing associations to target investment where it delivers the greatest social and economic impact.
Retrofit guidance
Addressing this, Collective has created a series of retrofit pattern books, developed with the University of Edinburgh, that provide detail on common property types. The Retrofit Pattern Book Guide is part of a suite of archetype pattern books that advise homeowners and landlords in Scotland and the wider UK on how to retrofit their properties.
Pattern books have historically been used by designers, clients, developers and contractors to define the qualities that a set of new buildings or neighbourhoods should be designed and constructed to. Many historic neighbourhoods were built using pattern books, which helped to standardise design detailing and construction as new districts were constructed at scale.
Our new guide should be read alongside the relevant archetype pattern book, which provides detail on the energy efficiency measures relevant to a given property and the impact these can have on reducing energy demand, energy cost, and operational carbon emissions.
By utilising a ‘data foundry’ – a secure, nationwide platform for managing and analysing large datasets from pattern books and beyond – we will be able to identify which fabric interventions work best for specific building archetypes. This would allow stakeholders to move forward with the confidence that their interventions are both fair and efficient.
Housing and health impacts
A critical component of this data-led approach is moving away from simplistic, one-size-fits-all solutions. For example, while heat pumps are often touted as a silver bullet for buildings to meet environmental targets while keeping energy costs low for residents, they are not a panacea, especially within social housing.
Without prior ‘fabric-first’ measures – insulation, glazing and draft-proofing – heat pumps can increase energy bills if the building remains inefficient.
Perhaps the most compelling argument for data as infrastructure is its ability to bridge the gap between housing and healthcare. The health impacts of cold, damp homes are profound and generational, affecting child development, physical health and long-term wellbeing.
Integrating energy performance data with health data can greatly strengthen the case for funding retrofits. The Chartered Institute of Housing estimates that bringing all social housing to EPC C could save the NHS around £85m annually from 2030, while BRE research has found that poor-quality housing costs health and care services around £1.5bn annually. Together, these findings strengthen the case for large-scale retrofit investment.
To unlock this potential, we must overcome ‘data lock’: the lack of proactive data collection and sharing that currently slows progress. We need to move beyond assessing projects solely on upfront capital costs and instead account for their long-term social, economic and health benefits.
Transparency and governance
For this data-driven future to succeed, the system’s integrity must be beyond reproach. Data is only useful if people trust it. This requires clear governance, transparent provenance and robust anonymisation. We must move beyond organisational silos and self-interest to share information and build a culture of transparency.
This extends to how we communicate with residents. We cannot simply present them with spreadsheets. We need to tell the fuel-cost reduction story and engage with residents’ associations in ways which build trust that outlasts political cycles. Clear, engaging tools, such as simple dashboards for decision-makers – alongside narratives for residents that explain what changed and why it matters – are essential for sustained success.
Nor should we let ‘perfection paralysis’ prevent us from acting. More information reduces perceived risk, and as we improve how we communicate and manage risk, we will unlock our local authorities’ investment readiness.
A national data foundry would give policymakers, local authorities and housing providers the intelligence they need to respond more effectively to both local challenges and wider economic shocks. By treating data as infrastructure, we can transform raw information into a public good. It is time for a nationwide commitment to a data-driven approach, one that solves macro problems through local solutions.
We already have the evidence, the archetypes and the blueprint for a retrofit data foundry. The challenge now is for local and national leaders to move beyond organisational silos and build the foundations for a resilient, healthier and fairer future.
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