32 New Cavendish Street - Net Zero Audit

Neual completed a detailed energy audit of 32–34 New Cavendish Street, a 551 m² mixed‑use building comprising a café at lower ground/ground level and multi‑tenant offices across floors one to four, to support The Howard De Walden Estate’s net zero strategy.

A site survey was undertaken reviewing building fabric, heating and cooling systems, ventilation, lighting, domestic hot water (DHW) provision and visible plant. Observations were captured within the MapMortar platform to develop a whole‑building operational energy model.

Full electrification was proposed, removing the remaining gas boilers aligning with the landlord’s existing VRF retrofit completed in 2021/22. The baseline modelled energy demand was 265,000 kWh per year, equating to an energy use intensity (EUI) of 481 kWh/m²/yr and operational emissions of 55 tCO₂e/yr. The café was identified as the dominant driver of energy use, primarily due to DHW and catering equipment, highlighting the importance of tenant engagement and improved sub‑metering.

A phased package of optimisation, light retrofit, deep retrofit and on‑site renewables was assessed against industry benchmarks and CRREM pathways. Collectively, the measures could reduce annual energy consumption to approximately 161,000 kWh and deliver a 39% reduction in operational carbon, saving around 104,000 kWh and over 20 tCO₂e per year.

Indicative capital costs ranged from £585k to £880k (mid estimate £733k), with annual utility savings of around £24k. Several quick‑win measures were identified, including a DHW heat pump with a payback of roughly one year, supporting a pragmatic, staged pathway toward decarbonisation.