海角视频

Net Zero Terrace

Rossendale, Lancashire

海角视频 developed an innovative methodology to deploy decarbonisation of domestic heat at scale by targeting the challenges posed by traditional British terraced housing.

Terraced streets are the beating heart of many British towns and cities. They are also among the hardest homes to decarbonise at pace and scale. Net Zero Terrace (NZT) is an ambitious partnership led locally by Rossendale Borough Council and Looped Energy Communities CIC, with SP Electricity North West and 海角视频 among the core delivery partners, to create a replicable, place鈥慴ased model that makes healthy, warm homes affordable 鈥� with no upfront cost for householders. The programme blends shared ground source heat, rooftop solar, smart local energy markets and a fairness鈥慴y鈥慸esign commercial model, so communities can transition together, and no one is left behind.

It is already being recognised nationally, winning the Utility Week Innovation Award 鈥� Energy in 2024 and The Energy Awards 2025 category for low鈥慶arbon initiatives.

At its core, NZT is designed to be transferable far beyond its Rossendale demonstrators. With millions of terraced homes across Britain, the stakes are high. The Smart Local Energy System (SLES) approach includes a “virtual microgrid” working very much like a private microgrid. By integrating a SLES with the regulated distribution network rather than relying on private microgrids, the model aims to remove critical blockers 鈥� technical, financial and social 鈥� to large鈥憇cale heat decarbonisation. The aim is to maintain energy bills at their current levels when switching to heat pumps, rather than incurring the significantly higher costs associated with electric boilers, while also improving comfort and air quality through a community-led process that fosters trust, participation and long-term value.

Challenge

The starting point was a deceptively simple question: how do we decarbonise traditional terraced streets where space is tight, homes often need fabric repairs before retrofit, and many residents are in or near fuel poverty? Early walk鈥憈hroughs in Rossendale confirmed the practical constraints 鈥� limited outdoor space for air source heat pumps, ageing roofs and gutters, and tight budgets that push households towards short鈥憈erm fixes. In this context, the default 鈥渆lectrify with standalone electric boilers鈥� is neither affordable nor efficient. It raises bills and places significant additional demand on local networks.

The team also heard a consistent message from residents: without clear guidance and a route that deals with the basics first, it鈥檚 hard to know where to start.

At system level, the challenge was equally stark. Terraced housing areas are dense, making clustered deployment of low鈥慶arbon technologies both an opportunity and a constraint. Traditional, house鈥慴y鈥慼ouse roll鈥憃uts fail to capture economies of scale, are slow to reach critical mass, and leave communities exposed to energy price volatility. Meanwhile, the distribution network must manage new heating loads and rooftop generation without costly, time consuming reinforcement at every pinch point. The programme therefore set out to prove a model that could accelerate heat pump adoption, orchestrate flexibility locally, and avoid a postcode lottery in who benefits from solar generation or flexibility payments.

The funding and delivery landscape presented another layer of complexity. NZT spans Ofgem鈥檚 Strategic Innovation Fund work led by SP Electricity North West 鈥� focused on the integrated SLES and its interaction with the regulated network 鈥� and Innovate UK鈥檚 Net Zero Living: Pathfinder programme 鈥� centred on governance, delivery flows, commercial structures and community engagement.

Aligning these streams to create a single, user鈥慶entred offer demanded strong operational governance and a shared language across councils, a Distribution Network Operator (DNO), community energy organisations and technology providers.

Solution

海角视频 helped shape NZT as a whole鈥憇ystem solution that brings together technology, market design, delivery governance and an ethical commercial model. Technically, the approach deploys shared ambient鈥憀oop ground source heat pumps in clusters, supported by coordinated rooftop solar PV, home thermal storage and community鈥憇cale storage. A smart local energy market then optimises when and how energy is generated, stored and used 鈥� integrated with the public network rather than operating as a private island. This 鈥渧irtual layer鈥� over the regulated network is what makes the solution scalable and replicable: it enables local optimisation and flexibility services without fragmenting the electricity system.

To make the economics work for households, infrastructure and retrofit costs are financed and recovered via a standing charge over the long term, removing the upfront cost barrier that has stalled so many retrofit efforts. The model is expressly designed to be non鈥慹xtractive: operational surpluses are kept within the community, and local community owned generation is treated as a shared asset rather than a homeowner鈥慴y鈥慼omeowner lottery. In practice, rooftop PV across a street is pooled and apportioned fairly, and where flexibility services generate value (for instance, by helping the DNO manage constraints), that value is shared across participating homes 鈥� avoiding the unfairness of benefits flowing only to those with the 鈥渞ight鈥� roof or the 鈥渞ight鈥� side of the street.

Because trust and uptake are the hinge on which success turns, the programme invests heavily in engagement and data鈥憀ed design. A digital engagement platform supports two鈥憌ay communication 鈥� helping residents understand sequencing (fix the roof, then insulate, then install heat) and giving the design team richer data on building condition and household needs. This enables design for real鈥憌orld living patterns, not theoretical averages, and streamlines the consenting and installation journey. The first three鈥慼ome demonstrator in Lancashire has focused on the practicalities of fabric retrofit and system installation, capturing the process learning needed to scale.

On the innovation track with SP Electricity North West, 海角视频 is the technical lead for the smart grid layer 鈥� defining use cases, shaping system requirements, engaging with third鈥憄arty home energy management providers, and assuring test results. A dedicated rig in Manchester is being used to evaluate control strategies and vendor solutions ahead of a living鈥憀ab deployment, de鈥憆isking the path to neighbourhood鈥憇cale roll鈥憃ut. In parallel, we are building the techno鈥慹conomic model that underpins investment decisions and a planning flow that maps from spatial identification of suitable clusters through to detailed heat system design.

Crucially, NZT is designed to travel. The model is being adapted with partners in South Wales to test transferability across different geographies and housing types, and is informing early scoping with local authorities such as Rochdale, Leeds (Armley), Bristol and others exploring terraced鈥憇treet decarbonisation. This outward focus ensures that learning from Rossendale can help accelerate delivery in similar 鈥渓eft鈥慴ehind鈥� places across the country.

Value

For households, NZT is about comfort, cost and confidence. By coordinating fabric retrofit with highly efficient shared ground source heat and smart operation, the model aims to maintain energy bills at their current levels when switching to heat pumps, rather than incurring the significantly higher costs, while delivering warm, healthy homes 鈥� all without upfront cost. The programme outlines an ambition to keep homes affordable while transitioning to low鈥慶arbon heating solutions. By integrating a local energy market with the public network, the solution also builds resilience to price volatility and rewards residents for providing flexibility that keeps the system affordable for everyone.

For communities and local authorities, the value lies in speed and fairness. A street鈥慴y鈥憇treet offer develops momentum, avoids piecemeal retrofits that lock in inefficiencies, and removes the postcode lottery that too often accompanies domestic solar and flexibility payments. By keeping value local and engaging residents through a clear, guided journey, the programme builds durable social licence for the transition.

For the electricity system, NZT is a pragmatic route to scale. Orchestrating clustered heat pumps, rooftop PV and storage through a smart local energy market opens the door to flexible demand that defers costly network reinforcement. As a proof point for integrating a community SLES with a DNO network, the project offers a blueprint that other network operators can replicate, helping to decarbonise millions of terraced homes while protecting bills and reliability. 海角视频鈥檚 systems thinking 鈥� spanning technical specifications, operational governance and investment modelling 鈥� has been instrumental in making this integration credible for regulated networks.

For clients and partners, we bring depth and continuity. Our role has ranged from shaping strategy and operational governance under Innovate UK鈥檚 Net Zero Living: Pathfinder programme, to leading the technical innovation in SP Electricity North West鈥檚 SIF project, to developing the techno鈥慹conomic modelling and spatial planning flow that allow councils to identify, phase and deliver at street and neighbourhood scale. We are also drawing on learning from our Heat Pump Ready work in Bridgend, ensuring methods and partnerships can be transferred rather than reinvented. The result is an end鈥憈o鈥慹nd delivery framework 鈥� technical, commercial and social 鈥� that city regions, combined authorities and progressive councils can pick up and apply.

Net Zero Terrace proves that with the right partnership, design intelligence and commercial innovation, terraced homes can be part of the solution 鈥� not a problem to be worked around. By integrating engineering excellence with a fair, community鈥憃wned market and a replicable delivery model, we are helping create streets that are warmer, healthier and more affordable to live in 鈥� today and for the long term.