Industry partnership to build net zero homes

Work begins today on new ‘living lab’ test homes at LJMU’s Byrom Street campus.

Housing experts have teamed up with construction products and solution provider Wienerberger to help make Britain’s homes greener, warmer and cheaper to run.

The new partnership will see three laboratory houses – known as ‘exemplar houses’ – retrofitted and two more constructed at the university’s Byrom Street campus. They will be used to test the latest eco-home innovations.

Wienerberger - the world’s largest producer of bricks and clay blocks and the UK’s leading manufacturer of wall, roof and landscaping innovations – says it is on a mission to transform houses into eco-friendly homes, which are warmer and cheaper to run.

Around 18 million homes currently hold an Energy Performance rating of “D” or lower.

Professor Mike Riley, Director of the School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment at LJMU said: “The start of this project signals an exciting new, long-term partnership between Wienerberger and LJMU.

“With the current challenges facing an ageing UK housing stock, coupled with national targets for achieving improved energy efficiency, the construction industry needs to refocus its efforts on retrofit solutions which allow cost-effective improvements in energy performance and living standards.

“This pioneering project will enable our academics and students to collaborate with an industry leader in eco-efficient solutions, gaining invaluable insights into the latest innovative approaches for delivering sustainable and affordable housing for all.”

According to the UK government’s Net Zero Strategy, around 18 million homes currently hold an Energy Performance rating of “D” or lower, meaning substantial efforts are required to improve the energy performance of buildings.

The three existing ‘lab houses’ at LJMU will be retrofitted with the latest solutions, each designed to improve the overall performance of the properties. Each house represents a typical British house from a specific era – the 1920s, 1970s and 2010s. The installation will use a fabric-first approach and include the integration of low-carbon heating solutions and photovoltaics. The works are expected to last around six months. The "fabric first" approach in housing retrofit means prioritising improvements to the building's envelope, such as walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors, before installing new "energy consuming" heating, ventilation systems or technologies. This will result energy, carbon saving and better thermal comfort for occupants.

Once complete, LJMU will begin a two-year study to test and monitor the energy and thermal performance of the houses, evaluating the overall effectiveness of Wienerberger’s Renatus initiative. This will be led by Dr Hu Du, Senior Lecturer in Building Services and Architectural Engineering.

The initiative, named “Renatus”, transforms houses into eco-friendly dwellings that not only reduce CO2 footprints and operational costs but also improve the living standards for residents and lower lifetime costs for homeowners. A demonstration of the Renatus approach is evident in the transformation of two post-war semi-detached bungalows. These buildings were initially below par in terms of energy performance – a common issue with constructions from this period. Wienerberger launched a comprehensive program for assessment, testing, and modelling to identify energy savings and decarbonization improvements, adopting a “fabric first” strategy. This strategy prioritises the energy efficiency of a property above all else. Energy efficiency is considered at every stage of the fabric first approach, especially concerning the building envelope.

A further phase will see construction of two additional full-scale test houses using the latest passive house technologies with a view to achieving future performance standards within "moderate" and "budget" spending. The Passive House standard is a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces its carbon footprint.  Passive Houses require very little energy to achieve a comfortable temperature year round, making conventional heating and air conditioning systems obsolete.

Dr Du said: “To date these houses have been used for product testing, enabling firms to gauge how their products perform in houses with different age and thermal properties.

“Once the retrofit is complete, they can be the R&D asset for understanding how new technologies and products perform in the real-life environment, such as reliability and durability and how people integrating with these technologies.”

Manuela Fazzan, Head of Commercial Propositions said: "At Wienerberger, we are committed to creating a more sustainable future by developing products and solutions that exceed current standards.

“We are very excited about the collaboration with LJMU, as it exemplifies our dedication to advancing retrofit technologies and demonstrates our proactive approach to addressing the urgent need for energy-efficient housing in the UK.” 

Image: Professor Mike Riley with Wienerberger MD Keith Barker 

About LJMU’s Exemplar ‘lab’ houses

The Exemplar homes have been an excellent basis for many projects and innovative developments. In particular they have supported the work of the LJMU Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory (LCEI), initially part-funded by ERDF and more recently through the LCR Shared Prosperity Fund that has been delivering industry-led high-quality research and innovation support in LCR since 2015. The Eco-Innovatory has provided regional SMEs access to the world-class expertise and facilities in order to create new or improved goods, processes and services that directly address the climate emergency, UKs drive toward net zero and the energy supply crisis.

LCEI has already collaborated with over 400 individual businesses through academic collaborations, PhDs, student internships and MSc by Research projects resulting in the creation of over 150 new products, processes and services promoting innovation in and adoption of low-carbon technologies.