Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of measuring heat transfer coefficients on (1) improving retrofit advice, (2) improving retrofit outcomes, (3) protecting consumers, and (4) de-risking finance offers.

The Warm Homes Plan recognised the potential role of Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETERs) in delivering warmer homes more affordably, including: helping tailor fabric and clean heat retrofit measures to homes; identifying hidden defects for remediation; and driving installation quality. We continue to explore new applications as part of ongoing policy activity.

These benefits form part of the rationale behind our recent consultation on introducing an option for recording SMETER Heat Transfer Coefficients as supplementary information alongside EPC ratings, in the ‘Home Energy Model: Energy Performance Certificates’ consultation. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.