Low-carbon research funding for US academics shows UK the way

Students in their final year will receive hands-on experience of technologies including smart home controls and solar-powered gas refrigeration through the ASHRAE Undergraduate Senior Project Grant scheme.

Fourteen organisations in the US and abroad were awarded grants, with Purdue University’s net zero energy home project gaining the largest slice.

The money will be used to help with monitoring and controlling the mechanical, electrical, lighting and other systems in the smart house by developing the controls schematic; developing the sequence of operation and control codes; installing the controls and sensors; and commissioning the building systems.

“The smart house will become a multidisciplinary living laboratory for large numbers of university students interested in low energy residential construction,” an ASHRAE statement said.

“The school also expects to show the home to media, contractors and the public and predicts that at least 500 Purdue students will visit the home annually over a two-year period.”

British academics believe that similar projects in the UK could give a much needed boost to our efforts to deliver low- and zero-carbon housing.

“It is more important than ever that students are given the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of the technologies we will need to deliver the low-carbon homes of the future,” said London South Bank University’s Tim Dwyer.

“The scale of the challenge to improve the performance of homes in the UK is truly daunting and it is highly questionable whether we will be able to equip enough people with the skills to deliver the technical solutions we need,” added Professor Dwyer, who is also a director of ASHRAE.

“The ASHRAE initiative shows just how seriously this subject is being tackled in the US and it is essential that British technical bodies and academic institutions are able to access this kind of funding.”