Zero Ambitions Podcast

Lucy Lyons of Kestrix joins us this week to talk about their use of drones, infrared imaging, and AI to quicken the pace of retrofit surveying. Specifically, with regard to a case study detailing their work with Peabody housing association.
Kestrix is a software company that works with landlords to assess their building stock in terms of which homes need help and whether the retrofit works that have been carried out are performing. 
They use their sophisticated broad-brush surveys and image analysis is is designed to help asset owners get the greatest value out of stretched budgets and capacity, investing time wisely and proving value for money.

Notes from the show
Lucy Lyons on LinkedIn
Kestrix on LinkedIn 
The Kestrix website 
The Kestrix & Peabody case study that we refer to
National Audit Office report of retrofit performance: Energy efficiency installations under ECO
NHMF award 'Best Warm Home Initiative' 2026
New Study Suggests Using AI Made Doctors Less Skilled at Spotting Cancer

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this podcast, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)
Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sorts
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB 
Join the IGBC
Check out Her Retrofit Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Baz Iyer (Vulcan) and Stephen Lloyd (Savills Earth) join us to talk about the likely impact of the UK's long-awaited Future Homes Standard (FHS) and, perhaps more importantly, the Home Energy Model (HEM).
HEM is the new model that will inform the UK's Energy Performance Certification (EPC) rating system. It's much more detailed in terms of the information that it demands about the buildings it is being used to rate, and therefore much more demanding of the assessors.
But this means that it can be much more useful for modelling the energy performance of buildings because it will better reflect how the building will be experienced by its users.  It won't be perfect but the level of detail that it demands means that homeowners may be able to use EPCs to make meaningful decisions about how to improve the buildings in which they live. 

This also means that, in time, it is conceivable that HEM can become a design tool in the same way designers use PHPP to predict performance and calibrate design. That's certainly what Baz is planning and why he and Stephen have been interrogating the place HEM will occupy in the UK construction sector, the impact it might have on its culture, and the opportunity that its adoption will open up.
If anyone needs some help getting to grips with this I'd recommend they connect with Baz, he's very friendly and well-informed.

Notes from the show
Baz Iyer on LinkedIn
Stephen Lloyd on LinkedIn 
The Vulcan website
The Savills Earth website
Vulcan on LinkedIn
Old ZAP #1 - 'Incompetence still reigns supreme' in energy ratings: DPE certification, EPCs, BERs, and a little bit of ESG
Old ZAP #2 - ZAP Shady business #1 – overheating, and Camden: we should think about solar gain all year round, with Zoe De Grussa (BBSA)

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this podcast, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)
Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sorts
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB 
Join the IGBC
Check out Her Retrofit Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

We sat down with Anna Moore, CEO of Domna Group, to talk about its approach to the business of retrofit, pragmatic retrofit strategy, and long-term asset management for landlords. All underpinned by a layer of data collation and machine learning.
Domna is currently retrofitting around 10,000 homes per year through grant-funded and self-funded programmes, using an integrated asset management—strategy to: deliver impact and savings through a mix of strategy, support on funding, management of delivery, and quality assurance.
Importantly, Anna knows her stuff and she is fun, too.
Notes from the show
Anna Moore on LinkedIn
Domna Group on LinkedIn 
The Domna website (sign up in the footer)

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this podcast, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)
Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sorts
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB 
Join the IGBC
Check out Her Retrofit Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

We're back! And we’re talking about the value of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) with Tom Robins and Leigh Fairbrother of Switchee.

Their business is POE for landlords that’s intended to improve the quality of life for the residents that they rely on. Capturing sensor data, analysing it, and synthesising that into something their clients can use.

Essentially, this means validating the quality of fabric, the impact of retrofit works, and anticipating car crashes—metaphorical ones.

We get a really helpful explanation of Awaab’s Law around 25–30 minutes in, too. (Thank you Leigh.)
Notes from the show
Tom Robins on LinkedIn
Leigh Fairbrother on LinkedIn 
The Switchee website (sign up in the footer)
Switchee on LinkedIn
PH+ coverage of that early work in Thamesmead (the Clockwork Orange estate) 

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this podcast, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)
Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sorts
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB 
Join the IGBC
Check out Her Retrofit Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

In this episode, we are joined by Attzaz Rashid (Barratt London) and Joel Callow (Beyond Carbon) to talk about Barratt London's move into Passive House.
It was a chance to get into what attracted Barratt to developing this Lo-E homes proposition and how they came to feel confident about committing to deliver certified Passive House apartments, the team effort that's been employed to make it work, and the way this change has brought about a renewed enthusiasm for the job in some of the project's participants.
It's a really interesting exploration of how the rigour and challenges of Passive House has affected Barratt's approach to high-density building, and how the Passive House approach has come to be recognised as advantageous to Barratt, in all sorts of ways. 
Finally, the critique of M&E design that's made late on in the episode is not a Barratt critique—as Az makes abundantly clear—this is one founded in Joel’s experience of inheriting issues that require Beyond Carbon’s expertise for their resolution.

Notes from the show
Attzaz Rashid on LinkedIn
Joel Callow on LinkedIn 
The Barratt London website
The Beyond Carbon website
District heating and passive house - are they compatible? from the pages of Passive House Plus
Barratt launches record passive house scheme also from the pages of Passive House Plus

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this podcast, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.
Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)
Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sorts
Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon Upfront
Join ACAN
Join the AECB 
Join the IGBC
Check out Her Retrofit Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**