Making communal heat fairer, cleaner and more predictable.

When communal heat falls short, it shows up in people’s lives

For many households, heating is not just a line on a bill – it is the difference between feeling at home and feeling exposed. On communal networks, residents do not control the plant directly. They rely on the system doing its job quietly and fairly.

Across ten L&Q social housing sites, that trust was under pressure. Networks were working, but not working as well as they could. Energy use was higher than expected. Some residents were comfortable, others were not. Small inefficiencies across multiple estates were adding up to significant cost and carbon.

Government support through the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) created an opportunity: not just to tune equipment, but to rethink how these shared systems could serve people and climate better.

Ten estates, one pattern: hidden inefficiency in the pipes

Before founding Generation 7, our founder Oliver led the technical team delivering this work. Together they carried out detailed site surveys and data reviews across the ten heat networks, building a clear picture of how each system behaved in real life.

The story was not of one big failure, but many quiet frictions: suboptimal control strategies, imbalanced hydraulics, pumping regimes that did not fully match demand, and networks compensating for design drift by burning more energy than necessary.

Using digital hydraulic models and techno-economic analysis, the team could show – in numbers and in diagrams – where energy was being lost, which interventions would make the biggest difference, and how the picture varied estate by estate.

From loose assumptions to clear, site-specific optimisation

The programme followed a simple rhythm: look closely, model honestly, then design improvements that respect both budgets and people’s lives.

For each of the ten sites, the team:

• completed on-the-ground surveys to understand plant condition, controls and how residents actually used heat
• built digital twins of the hydraulic systems to test “what if” scenarios before suggesting any changes
• ran techno-economic models to quantify the impact of adjustments to controls, balancing, generation and distribution.

Recommendations were not generic. They were tailored: specific control upgrades, balancing strategies, reconfigured flow temperatures and operational changes for each network – all grounded in data and co-developed with local maintenance teams.

Lower carbon, clearer decisions, better chances of a warm home

Across the ten sites, the analysis identified around 23% potential reduction in operational energy use and associated CO₂ emissions. For over 1,000 homes, that translates into networks that can deliver warmth more fairly and efficiently.

L&Q now has:

• costed, prioritised optimisation plans for each estate
• a stronger case for investment, backed by robust modelling
• a repeatable approach for lifting performance across the wider portfolio.

For residents, the benefits show up more quietly: fewer unexplained issues, more consistent comfort and greater confidence that their building is working with them, not against them.

Fair, efficient heat as a foundation for fair, efficient housing

Social housing is where energy systems and everyday life meet most directly. When we make communal heat cleaner and more reliable here, the benefits ripple out: fewer households forced to choose between comfort and cost, lower emissions from the places people call home, and a clearer path towards decarbonising entire neighbourhoods.

This programme shows that optimisation is not a minor technical exercise. It is a way of reshaping the invisible infrastructure that underpins community life – so heat networks work for people, for providers and for the planet they share.