XMAP, the local government geographic information system (GIS), now includes ratings of property energy performance to help Council’s tackle climate change, improve housing standards and ensure private landlords comply with legislation.
The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data layer, which uses a rating system similar to that used on new appliances, will also allow tenants and house buyers to make informed decisions helping them reduce household carbon emissions and respond to the escalating cost of living crisis.
EPCs show how energy efficient a building is ranging from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient) and are a legal requirement when a property is built, sold or rented. In addition to a colour coded visualisation of current ratings, the XMAP EPC layer contains enhanced analysis including generalised ratings and the potential for improvement. Using XMAP users can also find out when a certificate was issued and possible enhancements that could be made to the property to improve its rating.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is one of the first to embrace this resource and is already looking at how the data can be used to raise housing standards.
“There is a legal minimum standard that domestic private rented properties must meet so, using XMAP and the new EPC layer, we can identify properties that fall below this standard and work to support landlords to make improvements,”
commented Martin Laker, GIS Manager.
“We are also integrating EPC ratings for Council properties, and this will help us identify the potential for improvements and make the necessary changes to reduce emissions resulting from heating and cooling whilst managing our own energy costs. The EPC data will also help in the delivery of any future government home improvement schemes or grants.”
XMAP, a service provided by Geoxphere, is the only truly cloud-based web GIS specifically designed for Local Authorities. Accessible from any, web-enabled device, XMAP includes a suite of inbuilt workflows to support delivery of Council services such as planning, housing, waste and recycling, and street services. Bath and North East Somerset is a long term consumer of XMAP with more than 800 users across the council regularly benefiting from easy access to up to date geographically referenced data such as the EPC map layer.
XMAP also comes complete with more than 250 other geospatial data layers as well as a fully maintained Ordnance Survey map stack and is rapidly becoming the solution of choice for councils who want unlimited access, encrypted and secure data storage.