Taking whole house retrofit to the construction sector in further education

Bridgend College has secured Welsh Government Net Zero Carbon Maintenance and Equipment Funding to turn a 3-bed domestic property on its Pencoed Campus into a low carbon demonstration house.

The house will provide a teaching facility for the College students including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and construction skills, bringing to life the sustainability aims of their curriculum whilst inspiring other stakeholders about low carbon futures.

Bridgend College approached the Low Carbon Built Environment (LCBE) team at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA) to benefit from their expertise in retrofitting Welsh housing to realise their vision. The LCBE team are now part of the team involved in the planning, modelling, design, retrofit works and post-retrofit monitoring of the demonstration house.

This collaboration will enable the dissemination of evidence generated by the LCBE team from over the past 10 years to be showcased. The house and the associated learning material will be accessible to students in Further Education and Higher Education, local authorities, policymakers and the construction sector providing a tangible learning experience to inspire future low carbon, low energy retrofits. It will enable the LCBE team to leave a legacy from our research for a very important sector who will be instrumental in helping to deliver a net zero building stock for the future.  The house will become a centre of excellence for the training and development of independent living skills.