Dr Gustavo Sousa

I am a researcher, engineer and tech enthusiast. My experience includes research and practice in both academia and industry. I have a bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering, and an MSc in Energy and Engineering, on the topic of Bioclimatic Design. I completed a PhD in Building Technology at the University of Nottingham which looked at the analysis of strategies for both new and existing housing towards the reduction of carbon emissions associated to energy demand, particularly by identifying promising technical improvements, as well as by capturing potential incentives to adopt these improvements.

I worked in practice for several years in the area of automation technology, from domestic applications related to lighting, appliances and low-scale energy solutions, to commercial projects, involving building management systems and HVAC automation. I also worked with Latin-America based companies in the area of rainwater harvesting, multi-scale waste management, and corporate energy efficiency and conservation, with a particular emphasis on energy awareness programmes.

I joined the Sheffield School of Architecture in 2017, as ESRC/UKRI Innovation Fellow, contributing to the work of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) on the topic of housing stock decarbonisation.

More recently, I contributed to Catalyst, a project part of the UK-BEIS Heat Pump Ready Programme: Stream 2, in collaboration with EDF Energy, DAIKIN and SP Energy Networks. The aims of this project were: to provide a robust energy model with which to identify heat pump eligibility across the national housing stock; and to develop staged workflows with which to predict dwelling characteristics and energy systems of houses.