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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/G000387/1
Title: Consumer-Appealing Low Energy Technologies for Building Retrofitting ('CALEBRE')
Principal Investigator: Loveday, Professor D
Other Investigators:
Haines, Professor VJA Tsang, Professor S Hewitt, Professor NJ
Ratchev, Professor SM Eames, Professor PC Hall, Dr MR
Critoph, Professor R Griffiths, Dr P W Banfill, Professor PF
Gillott, Professor M Hyde, Dr TJ
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Baxi BRE Group (Building Res Establishment) Care & Repair (England)
CIBSE E A Technology Edward Cullinan Architects
Inbuilt Consulting Magdalen Galley-Taylor
Department: Civil and Building Engineering
Organisation: Loughborough University
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 20 October 2008 Ends: 18 April 2013 Value (£): 2,048,061
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Building Ops & Management Energy Efficiency
Heat & Mass Transfer
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Construction Energy
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
13 Mar 2008 EON/EPSRC Energy Efficiency Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
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 technology to 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 the householders. 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 innovative insulation 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.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Summary
Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
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Project URL: http://www.calebre.org
Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.lboro.ac.uk