Novel Retrofit Technology Incorporating Robots for Lower Energy Healthy Buildings

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There are ~22.2 million dwellings in England. One in five (21%) dwellings were built before 1919. About three quarters of these older dwellings have been subject to at least some major alterations since they were built, mostly extensions or loft conversions. A further 17.9% of dwellings was built between 1919 and 1944 and further 18% from 1945 to 1964. Dwellings built after 1990 account for just 12% of the stock. A large proportion of English housing stock is thus considered as heritage. Novel technologies for retrofit of our ageing stock would enable us to reduce its carbon emission and alleviate fuel poverty in a cost-effective way. This is essential for preservation of the heritage housing stock. The company Q-Bot has developed an innovative system for reducing heat loss through suspended timber floors that applies PU insulation from underneath. A robot is inserted into the floor void, surveys the void and condition of the floor, sprays insulation to the underside of the floor boards, and verifies the area and depth of insulation applied. This keeps the appearance of the floor (which could itself be considered as a heritage element) on the warm dry side, while maintaining ventilation within the floor void. Access can be made through an air vent in the outside wall, or through a small opening in the floor from within the property. This minimises disruption to residents and results in a typical in-stall time of 1-2 days.Initial 'in-house' experiments indicated that spraying insulation to suspended timber floors could reduce heat loss through the floor by 85%, reduce temperature stratification within the room, and reduce draughts in the property by up to 40%. The project will address the important question of the impact of the PU foam itself on the indoor environment and on occupants during the installation and afterwards. The currently used PU foam appears to contain ~30 Volatile Organic Compounds, some with unknown effects on human health. This could potentially create a risk to inhabitants due to exposure to chemicals that might, in the future, turn out to be (or have been) harmful. The proposal will develop suitable analytical techniques to explore the impact of various PU foams (and other sprayable insulation materials) on environmental and energy performance of retrofitted historic houses, and develop a comprehensive evaluation methodology to assess and model the effect of spray insulation on historic domestic properties.The project strongly supports the CDT Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage and Archaeology as it supports the development of two of its strands: Data to Knowledge and Knowledge to Enterprise. It aligns with the EPSRC priorities 'Materials Characterisation' and 'Data to Knowledge