We believe that a coordinated approach to decarbonising heat could benefit consumers, supply chain and governments. Our earlier phases of work on clean heat neighbourhoods proposed a process to do this. As we tested some of the underlying assumptions within this work, the initial focus was on one of the key proposed steps: zoning and planning. This is a process we envisaged as owned by the local bodies, creating granular heat plans sitting below any strategic planning, such as local area energy plans, that have already been produced. Local heat plans would define the preferred approach to low-carbon heat at a building-by-building scale.

One of our riskiest assumptions lay around how households would perceive, interact and respond to an area being set in a clear direction for clean heat. If we told people “We think these are your choices around heating your home in the future”, how would they respond? This area of exploration specifically looked at testing whether defining clean heat neighbourhoods and targeting messaging to individual households empowers households to act. We also wanted to understand how to present clean heat zoning information, the extent to which households wish to engage with the process and the level of detail that is desirable.

This work tested several underlying impact assumptions. But we thought that identifying the right technology for clean heat neighbourhoods may: 

• enable households to make more informed decisions about their homes 
• support households in taking action, by making the transition to low-carbon heating easier and more accessible
• prompt local supply chains to transition to low-carbon technologies 
• allow for delivery models to be tailored to local contexts, improving delivery and outcomes for households.

Currently, governments across the UK rely on individual households to make the switch away from fossil fuel to low-carbon heating, supported by incentives and regulations.

However, this individual approach may happen too slowly for the UK to reach its net-zero targets and some households that rely on shared infrastructure, such as heat networks that carry heat to properties, may be left behind. Others could miss out on potential cost benefits from production or delivery being carried out on a larger scale by spreading expenses, such as infrastructure, equipment, or installation, across many homes.

Area-based schemes, and our work on clean heat neighbourhoods, would offer an approach that sits alongside the current individual choice. We have little evidence on how households may engage with a local approach that is supported at a national and UK level. This project is a first step in understanding the engagement that is desirable to households.

We took a design-research approach to this project. Testing through creating design prototypes, such as digital maps displaying fictional clean heat neighbourhoods and mock consultations or letters to households, and working with a recruited sample of households to understand how they may respond to such material.

This enabled us to build an understanding of the types of information that are desirable, the level of engagement required and whether the process of mapping clean heat neighbourhoods is something that has value.

Through qualitative research, we built a picture of clean heat zoning that will influence our other work with local authorities and our broader policy recommendations around an area-based approach to low-carbon heat.