Researchers from across the GW4 Alliance of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter universities will work with industry, community groups and local authorities to transform existing housing into 'Beyond Net Zero' liveable homes, as part of UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Green Transition Ecosystem awards.
The team will design, test, implement and monitor innovative prototype bio-based lower carbon solutions to improve the energy efficiency and resilience of homes, and evaluate their performance compared to traditional synthetic materials.
The goal is to create scalable and transferable designs and solutions to retrofit a greater number of houses and different house types.
The housing sector is responsible for around 20% of the UK's total carbon emissions and with 80% of the homes that will be occupied in 2050 already built, retrofitting the country's existing housing stock to improve energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions, is critical to achieving the UK's net zero targets.
Project lead Professor Pete Walker of the University of Bath said: "It is not enough to simply implement design solutions; we need to create comfortable liveable homes that are resilient to climate change and will withstand future weather events. Our design process will embed community participation at its centre by creating spaces for co-developing knowledge, sharing experiences, and reshaping designs for Beyond Net Zero homes."
Retrofitting existing houses is an infrastructure priority for the UK Government. It is also a significant design challenge. Poorly executed retrofit measures can lead to problems with damp and mould, and poor design can cause damage to building fabric and cultural heritage.
Current retrofitting approaches rely heavily on synthetic and non-renewable materials, such as plastics and foam insulation, which can have negative environmental impacts. In some cases, the embodied carbon emissions of retrofitting measures can exceed the carbon savings from reduced energy use.
