Allys Todd — ValAi: why energy efficiency is the next valuation battleground
ValAi — helping banks, insurers and homeowners price climate risk into residential property.
In this episode I chat with Allys Todd, co-founder and CEO of ValAi, a PropTech startup whose machine learning algorithms help banks, insurers and valuers assess climate risk and energy efficiency inside residential property portfolios. Most of us think adding a pool or an extension is how you boost home value, but Allys points out a staggering reality: 78 per cent of Australian homes standing today were built before energy rating standards even existed, leaving our existing housing stock sitting at an average of just two stars out of seven.
While the commercial sector has used NABERS ratings to link energy efficiency with asset value for decades, residential property has lagged behind. Allys explains how ValAi is tackling this through both B2B data products for the corporate sector and a free consumer tool called Home Efficiency Australia, giving everyday homeowners a three-minute digital health check and clear, ranked ROI recommendations for retrofits. We dig into why decarbonising our homes isn't just about saving the planet—it's about ensuring properties don't become uninsurable stranded assets.
What’s in this episode
(02:15): Allys gives the ValAi elevator pitch: making home energy efficiency simple to help Australians save money and build wealth.
(02:51): How the startup was born from co-founder Tom Reed's valuation background and a lack of sustainability metrics in property education.
(04:32): Why government frameworks like NatHERS haven't naturally translated into consumer financial decision-making.
(06:32): Building a slick UX/UI with Amazon's Innovation Advisory service after winning the Global Open Finance Challenge.
(08:38): How the Home Efficiency Australia digital health check works in three to five minutes using aerial imagery and climatic data.
(10:34): What 'novel data' actually means—capturing in-home habits and lived realities that open-source portals miss.
(13:33): The sobering statistic: 78 per cent of Australian homes predate energy rating standards.
(14:51): The looming threat of stranded assets and uninsurable homes identified by groups like Munich Re and the World Energy Council.
(16:14): Navigating a 'just transition' so decarbonisation doesn't just cater to the 1% who can afford eco-homes.
(18:49): What's missing from current residential valuations—like knowing what it actually costs to live in a house, not just the mortgage.
(21:00): Comparing residential to the commercial sector's mature NABERS ratings and digital twins.
(24:32): The economic upside: homes with good efficiency ratings are getting 5 to 10% more return on saleability.
(25:20): Why Kylie and Allys agree you should upgrade your solar and efficiency now before a supplier rush hits.
(27:45): ValAi's B2B business model versus the Home Efficiency Australia consumer testing bed.
(29:26): Scaling as a two-and-a-half-year-old Adelaide and Sydney startup with five staff and a network of interns.
(30:46): The startup hurdles: finding machine learning engineers in a tight local market and navigating long B2B enterprise sales cycles.
(33:24): Five-year roadmap, US market expansion potential in places like Southern California, and strategic partnerships.
(35:30): How real estate agents can subscribe to ValAi's SaaS product today to gain a market advantage at inspections.
(36:52): Allys's takeaways from COP27 in Egypt and why extreme weather in cities like Sydney makes action urgent.
In their words
“At Val AI, we make home energy efficiency simple. So we were built to improve the confidence of home improvement decisions so that Australians can save money and build wealth while they're helping to protect the planet.” — Allys Todd
“In Australia, to keep it hyperlocal, 78% of homes that exist today were built before energy rating standards existed. So the majority of homes in Australia don't have an energy efficiency score or are really, really low inefficient properties.” — Allys Todd
“At the moment, everything is based on the dollar figure as opposed to the emotional or the wellbeing figure. It would be nice to see those elements brought in.” — Allys Todd
About the guest
Allys Todd is the co-founder and CEO of ValAi, a proptech startup bringing climate risk and energy efficiency data into residential property valuations. With a background in climate impact, earth sciences and sustainability policy, she previously worked extensively in government policy before launching ValAi with co-founder Tom Reed. She offers a sharp, pragmatic view on how the property sector must adapt to meet net zero targets.
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