Insite Energy’s Managing Director leads discussion on affordable homes and decarbonisation at Housing Forum
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Anthony Coates-Smith, Managing Director at Insite Energy, spoke at The Housing Forum’s Development Partnership Forum in Cambridge on 7 September 2022. The event explored how housing providers can deliver sustainable, high-quality homes while keeping them affordable.
Attendees at The Housing Forum visited Ironworks to see how the development combines affordable housing, sustainability and KURVE smart metering technology.
Ironworks showcases innovation at The Housing Forum
Ironworks helped demonstrate these challenges and opportunities in practice. Attendees also toured the development, where Insite Energy commissioned the KURVE system and currently provides metering & billing services. In addition, Ironworks was shortlisted for two categories at the Inside Housing Awards 2022: ‘Best Partnership Over 100 Homes’ and ‘Best Urban Development Outside London’.
The development sits in the heart of Cambridge, just minutes from Mill Road. It includes 236 homes, with 181 private and council-owned properties using KURVE. Cambridge Investment Partnership (CIP) leads the project. The partnership was established by Cambridge City Council and Hill Investment Partnerships in 2017 to address local housing demand through new homes, community facilities and commercial space.
“CIP has been a unique partnership, connecting the best of public and private sector expertise, with each party bringing their own values to the table. When it came to selecting a metering solution, KURVE made the decision extremely easy,” says Iain Liversage, Technical Manager at Hill.
“On a public sector level, KURVE was able to offer a cost-effective solution putting residents at the forefront. On a private sector level, the reduced carbon emissions that KURVE offers was a big priority, especially considering that Hill worked with the Environment Partnership to deliver a green and sustainable future for Ironworks.”
Lower-carbon metering for affordable housing
At the event, Anthony highlighted how the KURVE web-app provides residents with real-time usage data. As a result, residents can better understand their energy use. Studies have shown this can reduce consumption by up to 28%*. Furthermore, KURVE can reduce Operational Expenditure (OpEx) by 17%, Capital Expenditure (CapEx) by 60%, and Replacement Expenditure (RepEx) by 97%.
Answering CIP’s sustainability requirements, KURVE provides a solution with significantly lower carbon emissions. Because KURVE operates as a web-app, residents can access it from any internet-connected device. Therefore, developers do not need to install a physical in-home display (IHD) in every property. Consequently, developers avoid many of the emissions associated with manufacturing and replacing physical display units.
Following the success of Ironworks, CIP also selected KURVE for several other developments, including Timber Works (217 units), Colville Road (63 units), Campkin Road (71 units) and The Meadows (78 units).
*KURVE data collected between March 2022 and July 2022 from one private scheme on both credit billing and PAYG has shown that those on PAYG consume 28% less energy.
