BRE ushers in new home energy efficiency monitoring program

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has recently announced plans to undertake a bold new research project, aimed at understanding heat losses in the seven million solid wall homes in Great Britain.

The research project will include both a series of laboratory tests, as well as surveys on real homes. The main purpose of all these tests will be to determine the actual causes of the differences occurring between the predicted energy savings and those actually achieved from solid wall insulation.

The new project is funded by the DECC (the Department of Energy & Climate Change), and aims to consider how these walls are performing before and after insulation. The energy use behaviour of occupants and the accuracy of techniques for measuring heat losses will also be examined.

John Riley, BRE's Director of Housing Stock Performance said: "Solid wall homes may be significant consumers of energy and this project will allow more accurate predictions of the energy consumption of these homes and identify the potential for energy savings from solid wall insulation."

The program is set to last for two and a quarter years, which means that the construction industry will have to wait a while before being able to adhere to the corrective measures the BRE is likely to suggest following this research project.