One of the biggest Build To Rent operators in the UK is investing in new technology with the aim of boosting the energy efficiency of the country’s housing stock.

Legal & General and finance company Hodge is to spend £5.5m with Sero Technologies, an energy technology and services company supporting the transition to net-zero across the residential housing sector. 

Sero has developed industry leading digital tools and expertise to design and deliver cost effective low carbon solutions for both new build and existing homes. 

A statement says: “Sero works with landlords, mortgage lenders, housebuilders and more, to plot a pathway to net zero for their homes, providing the option of ongoing optimisation to ensure a good outcome for customers.”

Heating and hot water for UK homes make up 25 per cent of total energy use and 15 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. 

Legal & General says: “To achieve the UK’s legally mandated target of net zero by 2050, almost every home in the country will need to be improved or retrofitted with some combination of enhanced energy efficiency and low carbon heating. 

“Retrofit represents a significant market opportunity in the UK alone, with the average home emitting nearly six tonnes of carbon per year, 23 million homes using mains gas (carbon intensive) for heating, two million homes electrically heated (high running costs) and the remaining two million using heating oil or other fossil fuel systems (carbon intensive and high running costs). 

“Net-zero planning also needs to be considered at building design stage, with early planning having a major impact on long term emissions.”