New 1900 house experiment for climate change
Thursday, 26 January 2012 1:21 PM
Two families will be living their own version of the 1900 house on a university campus in Northern Ireland.
But the experiment is not for a television programme this time around but in the name of science and climate change.
The University of Ulster has build two exact replicas of terraced properties built in the Ravenhill area of east Belfast during the 1900s. Each will be occupied by a member of staff and their families.
The plan is to study how much energy is lost in a typical home over a measured period of time. This will allow researchers to explore what savings can be made from retrofitting energy efficient technology.
And that will allow existing homes to be refurbished to improve their thermal and energy performance by fitting greener technologies and greener products.
The project is a response to the Climate Change Act 2008, which demands big cuts in carbon emissions by 2050. Estimates suggest that up to 80 per cent of the homes that will exist then have already been built.
Professor Neil Hewitt of the university's Centre for Sustainable Technologies said: "Meeting the challenges of fuel poverty in a proven, cost effective, systematic manner enhances Northern Ireland both socially and economically, through improved living standards and the deployment of indigenous technologies."
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