Ensuring resilience in UK housing performance

 Nearly zero-energy housing is a type of housing which requires a very low supply of energy that can be delivered by renewable sources either on-site or nearby. This type of housing stock is considered critical for reducing carbon emissions and offsetting the impact of housing on climate change.

PhD research in the School of Architecture is exploring nearly zero-energy housing stock and assessing how robust it is and how well it can adapt over time.

PhD student Melis Tekin explains “The unknown effects of climate change mean a greater understanding of nearly zero-energy housing during the occupancy stage is needed. It is important to assess unpredictable events and the extra capacities that might be needed to prevent performance failures, particularly in housing."

"Consequently, there is a need for more modelling of nearly zero-energy housing in terms of the physical and social changes it is likely to experience.”

The research is modelling nearly zero-energy housing to explore and understand inhabitant practices in the household so that we can assess its robustness and ability to adapt when required. This research will set out how nearly zero-energy housing can be futureproofed and made more resilient through a better understanding of inhabitant negotiations within their practices in the home. 

The expected outcomes of this research will explain the impact of physical and social changes over time with inhabitant behaviour in the household and identify key insights for a new understanding of nearly zero-energy housing.

This research could make a unique contribution to the housing sector in the UK through an understanding of how design impacts behaviour and how nearly zero-energy housing developments can be improved to become more robust, adaptable and resilient to physical and social changes.