Property data analytics company CoreLogic Asia Pacific (CoreLogic) and Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, have launched RapidRate, an innovative tool that can estimate the energy efficiency performance of Australia’s 11 million residential properties.

The program combines CoreLogic’s 40 years of comprehensive property data with CSIRO’s RapidRate artificial intelligence model to produce an estimate of energy performance rating for existing homes, which is a good indicator of how costly a home would be to heat or cool, and the associated carbon footprint of its energy use.

Since the pilot program announcement in 2023, insights gained from pilot program participants and collaboration with banking industry stakeholders have been instrumental in the development of the energy efficiency platform.

CoreLogic International Chief Executive Officer Lisa Claes said the industry’s strong interest in RapidRate highlighted genuine demand for better insights into energy performance of the country’s existing properties.

“By enhancing the data on property-level energy performance, banks and lenders can analyse and report on their climate commitments related to the properties in their portfolios,” she said.

“There is limited data available around the energy efficiency of existing properties. RapidRate bridges the knowledge gap and will contribute to more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective housing.”

Revolutionising home energy assessment

CSIRO’s RapidRate AI tool is designed to assess the energy efficiency of dwellings with minimal input. Utilising a set of key factors such as floor area, orientation, and building materials, RapidRate uses machine learning techniques to generate an estimated star rating aligned with the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS).

CSIRO Senior Experimental Scientist Melissa James said that when combined with CoreLogic property data, RapidRate’s many potential applications include the ability to help the finance industry better understand the energy efficiency of homes in their mortgage portfolios.

“RapidRate can ingest CoreLogic’s property data and quickly turn it into meaningful information about the energy efficiency of a home,” she said.

“Understanding the energy efficiency of Australian homes is the first step towards making them perform better. Energy efficient houses are healthier and more comfortable, cost less to run, and result in less carbon emissions.”

Banking benefits from enhanced insights

Enhanced energy efficiency insights will equip the banking sector with valuable tools to help mitigate risk, enhance sustainability, and align with global climate commitments across their housing portfolios.

CoreLogic’s Head of Banking & Finance Solutions Tom Coad said RapidRate offers the country’s lenders an efficient mechanism for improving their financial records with previously unavailable information.

“Banks and lenders have identified that an understanding of energy efficiency is required to address portfolio segmentation and risk mitigation, while providing a baseline for performance tracking over time to meet compliance obligations,” he said.

“With the continuous collection of data, RapidRate will add value in supporting climate transition planning, financial emissions reporting, and formulating customer solutions. Continuous data collection ensures that financial institutions remain at the forefront of the residential energy transition, optimising and streamlining their strategies for clients.”

Mr Coad emphasised the launch of NatHERS-aligned energy efficiency star ratings via RapidRate is the foundational step to a comprehensive ecosystem of data-driven solutions.

“The banking and finance industry is proactive and highly engaged in wanting to understand the energy efficiency of their property portfolios, which will mean they can better support their customers in the reduction of carbon footprints,” he said.

“This is an exciting new era in the fight against climate change and our partnership with CSIRO means we have the resources for future capabilities such as Whole-of-Home based appliance modules. Every enhancement will be designed to support ongoing energy performance improvement of the housing stock into the future.”

According to csiro.au