Meet the project to cut domestic carbon emissions

May 18, 2022

Energy Systems Catapult hails milestone for programme that promises to hlpe optimise the design of green products and services
More than 1,000 UK households have now volunteered their homes to help innovators develop solutions to cut domestic carbon emissions through the Energy Systems Catapult's Living Lab initiative.

Established in 2017, the Living Lab project aims to provide a real-world test environment, where innovators can "rapidly design, market-test and launch cutting-edge energy products, services and business models".

The Catapult confirmed this week that the initiative has now passed the 1,000 home mark, providing clean tech developers with access to a wide range of different properties and real world behaviours that can help them optimise their products and observe how technologies can interact as part of a clean energy system.

According to the update, more than half the homes signed up to the scheme have smart heating technology in place, while 11 per cent have heat pumps installed. Moreover, a fifth of the homes in the Living Lab generate their own power using solar PV systems, and 12 per cent have an EV charge point installed.

Homes are connected by a digital integration platform to the Catapult's trial curators, ensuring the Living Lab is "digitally open, interoperable and scalable". Companies can then trial innovations in real-world conditions alongside existing clean technologies that growing numbers of households have installed, such as smart meters, smart heating systems, and connected 'internet of things' devices.

"We're building a diverse community of residential properties of all shapes and sizes, and with different heating technologies installed, to give us a unique insight into our changing energy demands throughout the net zero transition," said Living Lab business lead, Rebecca Sweeney. "This insight into our evolving energy habits - and how consumers and the market respond to new technologies - will be crucial to encourage innovation and help us design products and services for the future energy system."

The Lab has recently formed part of a world-first energy innovation test and evaluation facility - the Whole Energy Systems Accelerator (WESA) - to enable innovators to run risk-free tests of home energy innovations and evaluate their impact on the electricity network.

The Living Labs homes are spread across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, representing variety of tenures, property types, and family demographics. Detached and semi-detached properties make up 29 per cent and 28 per cent of the homes signed up to the pilot, respectively, while 18 per cent are mid-terrace and eight per cent end of terrace. Around seven per cent are flats, six per cent are bungalows, with the remainder are a mix of maisonettes, park homes, and linked detached properties.