Becky Mallaband

Merging a practice-orientated approach with an engineering-driven product development: a case study on home improvement

CALEBRE, a four year research project, is developing technologies to improve the energy efficiency of solid-walled housing in the UK, particularly in the owner occupied market. The engineering partners within the project require very specific information from user-centred design (UCD) practitioners in order to develop innovative technologies. However the project recognises that it is the ‘soft factors’ that must be addressed in order to make these measures acceptable and appealing to householders. This requires a deeper understanding of users’ motivations for improving their homes and the complex interplay of factors relating to aesthetics, lifestyle, life events, energy efficiency and finance. This paper presents how a practice-orientated UCD approach was taken to inform an engineering-driven product development process. It describes two data collection methods used within CALEBRE specifically to address these challenges and focuses on the specific home improvement practice of replacing windows.

Energy‐led retrofitting of solid wall dwellings: technical and user perspectives on airtightness

Purpose – Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is increasingly being promoted in the UK as a means of reducing the CO2 emissions from dwellings, and installers report growing activity in the retrofit market. However, the airtightness of a dwelling is a crucially important factor governing the achievement of CO2 reductions, and the purpose of this paper is to understand the technical implications of airtightness levels in an experimental dwelling, purpose built to typical 1930s standards, at the same time as gaining the users’ perspectives on airtightness and ventilation in their homes.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews were carried out with 20 households to collect information on their retrofit and improvement strategies, attitudes to energy saving and their living practices as they impinge on ventilation. The experimental house was sealed in a series of interventions, leading to successive reductions in the air permeability as measured by a 50 Pa pressurisation test. The behavi...

Blurred lines: how does cross-disciplinary research work in practice

This paper describes how cross-disciplinary research works in practice, illustrated through examples and experience from two large cross-disciplinary domestic energy research projects. The paper discusses the challenges of working across disciplines in this context and suggests a framework which helps to bridge the gap between technology developers or engineers and householders.