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Ordnance Survey (OS) worked to identify homes most vulnerable to heat loss across the UK, helping local authorities target energy-efficiency interventions where they are needed most.

Issue

As living costs rise and climate change drives more extreme temperatures in the UK, keeping homes warm has become increasingly difficult for many households.

The physical characteristics of homes play a crucial role in how easily they can be heated, leaving some households more vulnerable than others when temperatures drop.

Approach

Ordnance Survey (OS) analysed around 23.6 million homes across Great Britain using their National Geographic Database (OS NGD).

OS then developed a risk index by assigning each residential building a score based on three specific physical characteristics:

  • Connected homes (properties with shared walls, such as terraced or semi‑detached properties, retain heat better than detached houses)
  • Age of building (older properties built before 1960 are less likely to have cavity walls, insulation or double glazing)
  • Construction material (homes built with insulating materials lose heat more slowly)

Each building characteristic was scored as either 1 (harder to heat) or 0 (easier to heat). Scores were summed to create an overall property score, where lower values indicate greater ease of heating. These scores were then aggregated and averaged at the Local Authority District level.

Impact

The analysis visualised areas where homes are most vulnerable and produced a map that clearly identifies locations at higher risk across the country

This research has helped to pinpoint areas where energy-efficiency improvements would have the greatest impact.

This allows local councils and governments to easily locate areas that would benefit from energy-efficiency improvements such as retrofitting, insulation upgrades - helping to ensure warmer homes across Britain in winter.

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