Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) have been on the agenda since the Scottish Government’s 2017 consultation. If you work for a local authority, you’ve likely spent years navigating pilot phases, drafting final strategies, and making ongoing updates.
Now that most councils in Scotland have finalised their LHEES, some may feel ready to move on to other pressing priorities.
But let’s take a step back. LHEES is more than just a strategy – it’s a powerful tool for planning and delivering decarbonisation at scale.
Beyond heat networks: A holistic approach to retrofit planning
In its early days, LHEES was closely linked to proposed heat network regulations, signalling the Scottish Government’s ambitions for large-scale implementation.
However, beyond supporting only heat networks, LHEES can also provide essential insights for effective building decarbonisation and are a first step in supporting a strategic, evidence-based approach to retrofit planning for both local authorities and social housing providers, among others.
Since 2018, Changeworks has supported 25 local authorities at various stages of their LHEES journey.
Building on this experience, we are well positioned to support councils and social housing providers in turning strategy into action via data-driven engagement, prioritisation of measures, business and investment planning and bespoke decarbonisation delivery plans.
To help support LHEES implementation, Changeworks can support a range of stakeholders with:
Identifying clusters of housing archetypes to pinpoint strategic opportunities.
Highlighting priority measures based on stakeholder engagement, workshops, and socio-economic analysis.
Addressing gaps in housing data through thermography, airtightness testing, and detailed modelling.
Aligning delivery plans with existing or required capital programmes to ensure feasibility.
Ensuring retrofits deliver real-world results, adapting plans dynamically based on actual building performance – not just theoretical models.
Understanding local knowledge and attitudes to heat and energy, identifying potential barriers to decarbonisation and working with households to create motivation and knowledge to transition to low carbon living.
Enabling quality retrofit, not just box-ticking
Decarbonisation isn’t just about compliance – it’s about making real, lasting improvements to Scotland’s housing stock.
By focusing on high-quality retrofits that deliver tangible benefits, we can meet our net-zero ambitions without the need for costly revisions down the line.
Contact our team today
Whether you are a local authority looking to take the next step in your LHEES journey, or a social housing provider looking for a partner to help create an actionable and impactful retrofit delivery plan, we’d love to start the conversation.
