1. Introduction

This user guide is intended for the users of the [name of tool]. It covers the following:

• system access

• what information is available to the user under the various parts of the system

• creation and comparison of potential decarbonisation projects

• how to get help in case of issues with system performance or questions about functionality

2. System access

The system can be accessed at green-finance.skenarios.com . 

Each user can have personal log in details, but the platform is the same for all the users within the same Local Authority. Users access the same data and the projects are visible to all users.

3. Dashboard view vs. Properties

At the top of the page, select either a ‘Dashboard’ view of the area and user created projects, or a list of properties under the ‘Properties’ tab (see Figure 1). The following sections explain the content and functionality of both of these tabs further.

4. Dashboard

The following screenshots introduce the four parts of the ‘Dashboard’: 1) Map, 2) Whole area summary, 3) Projects and 4) Baseline energy performance of Projects. The four parts are shown in Figure 2 and further explained in the sub-sections below.

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Figure 2.  Dashboard view of the tool. The numbers correspond to the sub-sections that explain the content of each part of the dashboard further.

4.1 Map

The map (Figure 3) presents all the properties in the area. Each property is represented by a coloured polygon. The outline of the polygon indicates the property type, while its filling shows the energy class. The colour coding is visible in the Filter menu at the left of the map.

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Figure 3.  Map of properties. Filters to the left and at the bottom of the page allow the user to search for certain types of buildings and areas.

The bottom of the map contains a drop-down list of demographic data layers. This data is available at LSOA-level^a and the selection of the data layer overlays a coloured background to the map. The meaning of the colours is given within the label to the right of the drop-down list (only visible once a layer has been selected, as shown in Figure 4). The demographic data layers allow the user to visually identify and select areas of, for example, high levels of deprivation or fuel poverty.

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Figure 4.  Demographic data layers.

^a Demographic data sources:

CDRC: Consumer Data Research Centre. (2020, January 16). Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) | CDRC Data. Link

‌DESNZ: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. (2024, April 24). Sub-regional fuel poverty data 2024 (2022 data). Link

ONS: Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 26 March 2024, ONS website, article, Disaggregating UK subnational gross disposable household income (GDHI) to lower levels of geography, 2002 to 2021. (Accessed 1 September 2024)

Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2023, January 5). Tenure - Census 2021. ONS website. Link

Scotland's Census: Scotland's Census. (2022). Scotland’s Census 2022 - Housing. Scotland’s Census. Link

4.1.1 Creating a Project

Start creating a project by either selecting building filters, as explained above, or an area of interest.

Selecting an area can be done in two ways (Figure 5). The method is selected from the drop-down menu ‘Area selection type’.

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Figure 5.  Creating a project.

1. Area selection type: LSOA

Select one or multiple LSOAs by clicking on them on the map (see Figure 6).

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Figure 6.  Selection of LSOAs to create a project.

2. Area selection type: DRAW

To draw a polygon, select the polygon tool which is now available next to the Area selection type (see Figure 7). Draw your polygon by adding its vertices and click enter to save it.

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Figure 7.  Drawing a project area.

The Filters to the left on the map can be used to further narrow down the types of buildings to be included in the project. Filtering can be done by:

• Property type

• Building age

• Energy class

The project can be modified, renamed or deleted by selecting it from the list of ‘Saved filters’. 

The results of the analysis for each project are visible in a summary format in the ‘Projects’ section of the Dashboard (see section 4.3 of the user guide for further information on the summary information available).

4.2 Whole area summary

The Area summary gives an overview of the building stock of the entire area/region available to the user. As shown in Figure 9, the graphs summarise the number of buildings in the area along with their types and build years as well as the distribution of energy performance certificates (EPCs). Only actual EPCs are included in the area summary (i.e. those buildings which do not currently have a valid certificate are excluded from this graph).

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Figure 8.  The Area summary on the dashboard gives an overview of the entire building stock.

The data for each graph is available to download using the menu icon in the top right corner of the graph.

4.3 Projects

The dashboard 'Project totals' allows the user to view summary data related to a project and compare different projects against each other (see Figure 10). The left hand column gives the headings and units for the data points shown for each project.

Each project contains the name of the project along with a summary of the filters that were used to select the project (i.e. property type, build year and EPC ratings included in the project). All the projects created by the user can be viewed by scrolling to the right.

Under each project heading, the user can compare total energy consumption in the project area currently against the future energy consumption after the implementation of retrofit measures related to different retrofit scenarios. In addition, the user can compare the current and future CO₂ emissions of the properties and annual energy costs, and view the total capital cost of carrying out the improvements under each scenario.

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Figure 9.  Information about each project can be viewed under the Project totals part of the dashboard.

The user is able to toggle between different retrofit scenarios using the drop-down menu at the top right of the Project totals screen. The scenarios available to view are:

The measures can vary for buildings of different typologies and ages. The specific measures applied to each property are listed under the 'Properties' tab at the top of the screen.

4.4 Count of energy classes per project

This graph in Figure 11 shows the total number of properties with different energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings associated with the different projects.

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Figure 10.  EPC rating distributions for each project are also available on the dashboard.

The user can choose which projects to include in the graph by selecting/de-selecting the relevant projects within the label below the graph. Data is available to download using the menu button at the top right.

5. Properties

5.1 All properties

The Properties tab contains a list of all the buildings available for the user to view (typically a local authority area).  This is shown in Figure 13. To view only the properties belonging to a project, select it from the drop-down menu in the top left.

Filters can be enabled through the Show/hide filters button, allowing the user to search for a specific property (e.g. by address) or a certain feature (e.g. a specific EPC rating).

The view can be further personalised through the Show/hide columns. This allows the user to select which columns to display, change their order or pin them (either to left or right).

Toggle density changes the way the list is displayed.

Toggle full screen allows the user to switch to a full screen mode.

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Figure 13.  Overview of the properties list available under the Properties tab.

Data related to a specific property on the Properties list can be accessed by selecting that row. Note that apartment buildings (or buildings which contain multiple units in general) are represented at the building level, instead of listing each individual apartment. This ensures that retrofit measures affecting the whole building (such as roof/loft insulation, external wall insulation, etc.) can be easily viewed.

5.2 Individual property view

5.2.1 Retrofit scenarios

The view allows the user to select the most appropriate retrofit scenario for an individual property by comparing the costs and benefits of the different retrofit scenarios (see Figure 14). The table summarises the four retrofit scenarios, their costs and the associated energy cost savings, energy consumption reduction and CO₂ emission reduction.

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Figure 12.  Information available about an individual property includes the benefits and costs associated with different retrofit scenarios.

5.2.2 Retrofit measures list

As shown in Figure 15, the table lists all the retrofit measures applied to the building, grouped by the retrofit scenario. The table breaks down the effect of the measures on energy and CO₂ emission and shows the estimated cost for the single measure.

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Figure 13.  The individual property information also contains a list of retrofit measures within each scenario, along with the associated energy consumption, CO₂ emission and cost impacts.