PyTerra has been awarded an Innovate UK R&D grant to develop an online solution which empowers tenants to initiate home energy improvement measures

PyTerra, the Bristol-based company, today announces it has been awarded a grant under Innovate UK’s ‘Net Zero Living: User Focused Design’ competition. This project will engage tenants across Bristol to understand how they can be incentivised to initiate energy efficiency measures in their rented homes.

Recognising that tenants are more likely to live in energy inefficient dwellings, and that the retrofit industry is failing to tap into the massive private rented sector, PyTerra is developing a solution called MyGreenDoor to bring these two markets together for mutual gain.

MyGreenDoor gives tenants more agency over their comfort and wellbeing, while at the same time opening up a significant market for the retrofit industry.

MyGreenDoor creates ‘smart’ landing pages on the websites of retrofit installers and suppliers, where tenants’ needs are assessed using customer intelligence tools, and where tenants are matched with solutions that suit both them and their landlords. Other products will be brought into the mix if needed, effectively creating multiple mini marketplaces across participating websites.

In effect, MyGreenDoor exchanges ‘hard sell’ for ‘soft sell’, brokering a space that emphasizes the building of trust-based relationships with potential customers – essential for the tenant market.

The impact will be to accelerate the delivery of more comfortable living environments and net zero targets. Tenants will receive information about solutions that are deliverable and affordable. Retrofit companies will open up the lucrative rental market and improve their customer conversion rates.

Tenants are being targeted because landlords currently have little incentive to invest in energy improvements. Last September, the Prime Minister scrapped new EPC targets which would have required landlords to improve the energy performance of their properties. Landlords still expect this legislation to be reintroduced in the future, but the timing is uncertain. However, the new Renters (Reform) Bill promises to help tenants become more secure to pursue energy improvements, building on rights they have had since 2015.

“Over the past two years we’ve focused on where MyGreenDoor can best bring consumers and suppliers together in the rapidly changing UK retrofit market. The product is being designed to improve tenants’ lives by giving them realistic choices as to how the comfort of their homes can be improved,” comments, David Arscott, founder and CEO at PyTerra. “This grant from Innovate UK validates our innovative thinking, allowing us to fully engage the tenant market in order to develop a successful product.”

During the project, PyTerra is working with expert market researchers Timmus Research. Advice is also being provided by Retrofit West CIC, whose MD Simon Andrews added, “ Innovation in this area, particularly where it drives data-driven insights into both buyer and seller markets, is wholly supported by Retrofit West.”

Retrofit installers and suppliers can sign up to hear more about MyGreenDoor via https://www.mygreendoor.io. Join the movement towards healthier homes for tenants through a thriving retrofit industry with MyGreenDoor.