Salford Uni to study energy efficiency at home
Salford University has been awarded a £237,000 grant to study the effectiveness of energy efficiency measures in homes across Greater Manchester.
The evaluation study is being funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and will last for 21 months.
The university has previously conducted experiments within its own energy efficient house.
Interim results will be available in March 2014 with a final report published in September 2014.
The university is to study households in Greater Manchester which are part of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's core cities programme.
The study will provide scientific data on the effectiveness of measures such as insulation, new boilers and glazing, providing information in support of the Green Deal policy initiative.
Working with DECC, researchers from the university's Applied Buildings and Energy Research Group will gather a wide range of data, from the use of sensors to understand living conditions and energy use, to soft issues of how people use and understand their homes.
The homes, which are currently being selected, will be both private and social housing, covering property types from 1750 to modern builds.
The team from the university will also be providing guidance, with representatives sitting on the Project Programme Board and GM Buildings Group, as part of Salford University's commitment to addressing sustainable buildings in Greater Manchester.
The Government is inviting households across the country to take part in the Green Deal in order to reduce fuel poverty and carbon emissions.
The Green Deal enables householders to fund some of the costs of energy efficiency measures which are then repaid through the resulting savings on the energy bill.
Dr Will Swan, from the university's Energy Hub, is leading the project.
He said: "If we are to effectively understand what difference sustainable retrofit is going to make to people's bills and their quality of life, we need to establish the evidence base that will help inform those decisions.
"The team is committed to making sure we can not only do that, but work with our partners to ensure that real learning takes place."
