Blurred lines: how does cross-disciplinary research work in practice

This paper describes how cross-disciplinary research works in practice, illustrated through examples and experience from two large cross-disciplinary domestic energy research projects. The paper discusses the challenges of working across disciplines in this context and suggests a framework which helps to bridge the gap between technology developers or engineers and householders

Using a practice-orientated approach to inform the design of energy efficiency measures for older homes

CALEBRE, a four year research project, is developing technologies to improve the energy efficiency of solid-walled housing, particularly in the owner occupied market. The engineering partners within the project require very specific information from user centred design practitioners in order to develop innovative glazing, heating, ventilation and insulation technologies. However the project recognises that it is the 'soft factors' that must be addressed in order to make these measures acceptable and appealing to householders. This requires a deeper understanding of users' motivations for improving their homes and the complex interplay of factors relating to aesthetics, lifestyle, life events, energy efficiency and finance. Rather than solely focussing on specifying user requirements for each of the project's energy saving technologies, CALEBRE is taking a systemic approach, seeking to understand what householders value about their homes aesthetically and practically and the home improvement practices they currently adopt in order to maintain and improve their homes. The introduction of energy efficiency measures requires the homeowner to make major one- off (often irreversible) decisions relating to the structure and appearance of their homes. Understanding the factors shaping such significant acts of consumption is therefore essential if wide-scale adoption of such measures is going to be achieved. This paper presents the challenges associated with using a practice-orientated user-centred design approach to inform the design of energy efficiency measures and the strategies for retrofitting these technologies into older homes. It will introduce two data collection methods developed within CALEBRE specifically to address these challenges

Energy-led retrofitting of solid wall dwellings: technical and user perspectives on airtightness

Purpose – Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is increasingly being promoted in the UK as a means of reducing the CO2 emissions from dwellings, and installers report growing activity in the retrofit market. However, the airtightness of a dwelling is a crucially important factor governing the achievement of CO2 reductions, and the purpose of this paper is to understand the technical implications of airtightness levels in an experimental dwelling, purpose built to typical 1930s standards, at the same time as gaining the users’ perspectives on airtightness and ventilation in their homes. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interviews were carried out with 20 households to collect information on their retrofit and improvement strategies, attitudes to energy saving and their living practices as they impinge on ventilation. The experimental house was sealed in a series of interventions, leading to successive reductions in the air permeability as measured by a 50?Pa pressurisation test. The behaviour of a whole-house MVHR system installed in the experimental house, was simulated using IES Virtual Environment, using a range of air permeability values corresponding to those achieved in the retrofit upgrading process. Findings – In the house considered, air permeability must be reduced below 5?m3/m2h for MVHR to make an overall energy and CO2 saving. However, to achieve this required a level of disruption that, on the basis of the views expressed, would be unlikely to be tolerated by owners of solid wall dwellings. Originality/value – The paper is the first to combine results from a user-centred approach to exploring the existing practices of householders with a simulation of the energy and CO2 performance at different levels of airtightness of an experimental house in which MVHR has been installed

Energy-led retrofitting of solid wall dwellings - technical and user perspectives on airtightness

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is increasingly being promoted in the UK as a means of reducing the CO2 emissions from dwellings, and installers report growing activity in the retrofit market. In parallel with a survey of householder preferences and practices, the behaviour of a whole-house MVHR system installed in an experimental house, purpose built to typical 1930s standards, has been simulated. The range of air permeability values corresponded to those achieved in a retrofit upgrading process carried out on the house. In the house considered, air permeability, as measured in a 50 Pa pressurisation test, must be reduced below 5 m3/m2.h for MVHR to make an overall energy and CO2 saving. This required a level of disruption that would be unlikely to be tolerated by owners of solid wall dwellings

Energy-led domestic retrofit: impact of the intervention sequence

Interviews conducted with householders reveal that energy efficiency is often a lesser motivation than other factors for undertaking home improvement work. Homeowners' approach to refurbishment is typically staged over several years, not as a whole house retrofit. As the operational performance of an individual emission-reducing technology typically depends on what other measures are already in place, the retrofit intervention sequence can potentially affect the overall performance of the dwelling. The impact of the intervention sequence on a semi-detached 1930s house is investigated with dynamic thermal modelling, using five sequences based on different homeowner personas developed from qualitative interviews. The results show that, whilst a whole house retrofit would reduce cumulative CO2 emissions over 25 years by 54%, the sequences actually implemented by the individual households result in significantly smaller reductions of between 42% and 24%. This variation in operational performance due to the intervention sequence means that there is a variable return on the investment for a particular technology and, significantly, that different sequences will yield different cumulative emission reductions. This has significant consequences for policies providing financial incentives for energy-led retrofit, particularly to include the intervention sequence and timing

UK solid-wall dwellings - thermal comfort, energy efficiency refurbishment and the user perspective - some preliminary analysis from the CALEBRE project

The paper discusses the state of solid wall housing in the UK, and the technical and socio-economical challenges that need to be addressed whilst refurbishing this stock. The challenges of improving the thermal performance of the envelope and of reducing space heating-related carbon emissions in solid wall housing are discussed together with issues related to thermal comfort, the ‘take-back’ process and user-appeal. Preliminary results of the Householder Survey of Project CALEBRE are presented, including the sample selection and survey processes. It is concluded that, irrespective of cost factors, the perceived benefits and aspirational appeal of carbon-reducing technologies need to outweigh the cost associated with disruption from the perspective of the householder. Achieving this, places demanding requirements not only on technologists and designers but also upon those responsible for marketing essential energy saving solutions

Техника шахты : [газета] : орган партийного бюро, завкома профсоюза, комитета ВЛКСМ и дирекции Томского Электромеханического завода им. В.В. Вохрушева

Газета издаётся с 1951 г

The journey to work - exploring difficulties, solutions and the impact of ageing

A study was conducted in the UK, as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Working Late project, of the journey to work among 1215 older workers (age groups 45-49, 50-55, 56-60 and 60+). The aim was to identify problems or concerns that they might have with their commute, strategies that have been adopted to address them, and the role that employers can play to assist them. Follow-up interviews with 36 employees identified many strategies for assisting with the problems of journeys to work, ranging from car share and using public transport to flexible working and working some days from home. Further interviews with a sample of 12 mainly larger companies showed that employers feel a responsibility for their workers’ commute, with some offering schemes to assist them, such as adjusting work shift timings to facilitate easier parking. The research suggests that the journey to work presents difficulties for a significant minority of those aged over 45, including issues with cost, stress, health, fatigue and journey time. It may be possible to reduce the impact of these difficulties on employee decisions to change jobs or retire by assisting them to adopt mitigating strategies. It does not appear that the likelihood of experiencing a problem with the journey to work increases as the employee approaches retirement; therefore, any mitigating strategy is likely to help employees of all ages. These strategies have been disseminated to a wider audience through an online resource at www.workinglate.org

The DEFACTO Field Trial: Methodology and Data Sets

The DEFACTO Field Trial was undertaken as part of a 6-year EPSRC-funded research project (grant EP/K00249X/1) from 1 November 2012 to 31 October 2018, aimed at measuring the energy saving capability of so-called ‘smart’ heating controls when used with gas-fired, low-pressure hot water central heating systems. This report describes the conduct of the field trial, the methodology adopted for its execution, the data that were collected and the cleaning of those data. Materials used in the field trial are presented in Appendix A (Pilot Study) and Appendix B (Main Study) to this report