CUROP Project: Regional scale housing retrofits

Classifying the problem to improve the housing welsh housing stock

There are almost a quarter of a million social homes in Wales owned by around 100 social housing companies. Many of these homes need urgent retrofitting to achieve carbon reduction targets set by the UK Government and to improve the quality of life of the householders. To do this social housing companies need to have a clear record of their stock and its current energy performance. This project provides the opportunity to work with a selection of social housing organisations in Wales to investigate and analyse existing housing databases and the potential for energy savings through retrofitting.

As part of the Low Carbon Built Environment (LCBE) Specific 2 WEFO programme, a team of researchers at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) are working with a number of social housing organisations who have large housing stocks but do not have a complete database of their stock or a clear way of using the databases to identify appropriate houses to retrofit and the most appropriate retrofit solutions for these houses. The CUROP role will involve checking and completing the data within the databases provided by a selection of social housing organisations, analysing the data and reporting back to social housing companies on how the databases can be improved and used. The databases can then be used in the LCBE project to identify housing to be retrofitted as demonstration projects and to feedback to other Social Housing companies on the most appropriate data to collect for identifying retrofit solutions.

The successful applicant will be supervised by Dr Joanne Patterson who is the Technical Project Manager for the LCBE project at the WSA and has experience in urban scale energy modelling. The other researchers on the LCBE team will provide support where appropriate. The work is based on previous research undertaken by members of the team (Energy and Environmental Prediction (EEP)) Model where housing stocks have been clustered into typologies to identify appropriate retrofit solutions.
The appointed student will be working with real data from social housing and will be introduced to  the complexities of the decision making process involved in making choices in retrofitting an aging housing stock with limited funding. As part of a larger team implementing low carbon technologies on different types of buildings at different scales, they will have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge across this wider subject area. A computer and space will be provided as appropriate and there are funds within the LCBE Specific 2 WEFO budget to allow for travel and subsistence where appropriate.

Work will involve:

• Data cleaning – checking and completing the data within the databases provided from 2-3 social housing companies;
• Data analysis – analysis will be based on previous research at the WSA (Energy and Environmental Prediction (EEP) model) where housing will be ‘clustered’ based on energy use characteristics included within the databases such as floor area and age of the property;
• Reporting – A short report for social housing companies will be produced to feedback on how existing databases can be improved and used.

The project:

• Seven weeks, full time, ideally to start on 5th June 2017 (mid June at the latest);
• Stipend £200/week;
• Supervised by Dr Jo Patterson
• Based at the Bute Building at the Welsh School of Architecture.

Who should apply:

This is open to all Cardiff University undergraduate students who will not graduate in 2017.

To apply:

Applications should include a CV and a one page personal statement that clearly explains your ability to meet the criteria listed below:
Please submit your application to Dr Jo Patterson by 17.00 on 29th May 2017.

Applicants will be shortlisted using the following criteria:

• Interest and understanding of housing stock in the UK;
• Proven ability to undertake data analysis using excel and access;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills;
• A genuine interest in social housing and the implementation of low energy technologies.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an informal interview.

For further information on opportunities please visit the CUROP website, the project is listed as project 135 under Architecture: https://intranet.cardiff.ac.uk/students/support-and-services/careers-and-employability/work-experience/summer-research-placements/current-projects/college-of-physical-sciences-and-engineering

For further information on this CUROP opportunity please contact Dr Jo Patterson at patterson@cardiff.ac.uk

The LCBE project is part of SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, which is led by Swansea University and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, and EPSRC.