Consumer-Appealing Low Energy Technologies for Building Retrofitting ('CALEBRE')

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Residential and commercial)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Civil Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)

Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Technology acceptance)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)

Professor D Loveday
Civil and Building Engineering
Loughborough University

Standard

EPSRC

20 October 2008

18 April 2013

54 months

£2,048,061

Management & business studies

East Midlands

Energy : Energy

Professor D Loveday, Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University

Professor PFG Banfill, Sch of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University
Professor RE Critoph, School of Engineering, University of Warwick
Professor PC Eames, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Loughborough University
Dr MC Gillott, Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham
Mrs VJA Haines, Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute, Loughborough University
Dr MR Hall, Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham
Professor NJ Hewitt, School of the Built Environment, University of Ulster
Dr TJ Hyde, School of the Built Environment, University of Ulster
Professor SM Ratchev, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Professor SCE Tsang, Oxford Chemistry, University of Oxford

Project Contact, Inbuilt Consulting
Project Contact, E A Technology Ltd
Project Contact, Edward Cullinan Architects
Project Contact, Baxi Group Ltd
Project Contact, Care & Repair (England)
Project Contact, HR Wallingford
Project Contact, Magdalen Galley-Taylor
Project Contact, CIBSE
Project Contact, Building Research Establishment (BRE) Limited

The UK domestic sector is responsible for almost 40% of national carbon emissions. Any serious attempt to reduce these emissions must recognise the fact that the rate of housing stock renewal is slow, that space and water heating dominate the usage, and that householder appeal and interaction play a paramount role. This places the emphasis on retrofit solutions, and technologies that relate to energy supply and reduction in demand, plus alignment with user lifestyles.For any new technologyto be successful, it must be accepted by the end users and meet their needs. These needs include their social, emotional, practical and economic needs. For technologies such as insulation (demand reduction) or heat pumps (energy supply), it is critical that they are considered as a coherent, integrated solution in the context of the built environment and the end users / householders. To this end, this project will identify the barriers and opportunities for possible energy saving and low carbon energy supply technologies, primarily from the perspective of the home and the householders. Other stakeholders in the process, such as installers, decorators, house maintainers and future home owners will also be pertinent to the success of the technologies, so their views will also be considered. This will enable the technologies to be specified and adapted to meet the needs of the ends users whilst satisfying the energy efficiency improvements desired for the property in question. The modified technologies will then be trialled in a dedicated, occupied and instrumented test house, providing further knowledge about technical performance, user interaction and occupant thermal comfort. For the trialled technologies, designs will be devised that encompass their functionality together with their cost-effective manufacture. It is anticipated that every household will require a suite of energy-related measures that matches the limitations of the house and the requirements of thehouseholders. A design and selection tool will be produced for use by householders and installers to identify these measures as a single transaction (a 'one-stop-shop' approach) for deployment. The tool will be available for uptake by industry, and will be capable of expansion to accommodate other technologies in future.The programme of work comprises laboratory-based applied research to modify key technologies as informed by user needs, fundamental research to investigate innovativeinsulation solutions, and occupied test house trialling. Analysis and modelling will produce a practical design / selection tool for stakeholder use.This project provides an opportunity to bring together a multi-disciplinary team of researchers of international standing, supported by world-class equipment and backed by unique demonstration / trialling facilities. These resources will combine to ensure the accelerated advancement and uptake of selected technologies. The 'CALEBRE' project team is well-placed to significantly advance the field of building energy performance, and to make a real impact on UK domestic carbon emissions

18/06/08