Digital 3D models of London chart path to lower emissions

An interactive 3D map of London that grades the energy efficiency of more than 3.5 million properties has been built by UCL researchers for the Greater London Authority (GLA) to inform efforts in tackling fuel poverty and reducing carbon emissions. The London Building Stock Model, created by a team at the UCL Energy Institute and the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, contains detailed data on every single domestic and non-domestic property in all 33 London boroughs, including the age of buildings, their 3D proportions, construction materials, servicing systems, and the nature of the activities on each floor of commercial and public buildings, as well as an energy efficiency grading for each building. The digital model, which took two years to build, can be used to identify energy inefficient buildings and to help local authorities tackle fuel poverty as well as guide retrofit programmes to improve the energy efficiency of the building stock. A second model, the London Solar Opportunity Map, reveals the solar energy potentially available from all roofs and open land across Greater London, either in the form of electricity from photovoltaic (PV) installations or heat from solar thermal collectors. The map, which calculates the amounts of sunshine and diffuse solar radiation falling annually on all surfaces, takes into account overshadowing by trees and other buildings as well as the slopes of surfaces. It is intended for use by homeowners, policymakers, investors and solar power installers.