Problem identified: Buildings are responsible for 36% of the EU’s CO2 emissions . While new builds are constructed to a higher energy efficiency (EE) standard, 42% of the North-, and Western-European housing stock was built pre-1960 with drastically lower efficiency. Retrofit EE measures can broadly be divided into 2 categories: a) those with an attractive payback that are already widely adopted and there is little room for incremental gains (e.g. loft or cavity wall insulation); b) those with prohibitive capex (long payback), where take-up is dependent on government support schemes (e.g. solid wall insulation, double-glazing). These products have been typically funded by various subsidy schemes across Europe, which have been progressively withdrawn. The next iteration of ECO3 energy subsidy scheme in the UK (2018-2022) will be predominantly focusing on ‘hard-to-treat’ properties, where currently available retrofit energy upgrades are expensive and hugely disruptive, preventing uptake.
Landlords and homeowners with constrained budget to spend on energy upgrades, will be looking for the next ‘low hanging fruit’: a low-cost, high-impact intervention.
Market Opportunity: We identified a huge untapped potential in the energy saving impact of controlling air-vents (air-bricks). These vents (located at the external walls, predominantly in existing, pre-1970s homes) were originally built in to provide natural ventilation to the living space and/or floor void. In the UK, 17.8 m homes, in the Netherlands, 3.8 m homes built before the 1970s have air bricks, and our European market research suggest further markets (e.g. Germany: 12 m homes; France: 16.6 m homes with air-vents, due the same climatic conditions and housing construction), resulting in a 53.4 million3,4,5 homes European market, providing a £18.7 bn EU market opportunity.
Dual-problem of natural ventilation: air vents which are constantly open can lead to up to 15% of the homes’ total heat loss (based on research conducted by Sheffield University). At the same time, if occupants permanently block air vents, this can lead to moisture build-up, (risking air quality and subsequently occupant’s health) and costing c. £7.4k/home to repair damp damage .
Solution: To overcome these issues and exploit this market opportunity, UT have developed a cloud-based, intelligent ventilation control (AirEx), which enables ~15% heating energy saving for residents without compromising moisture build-up or air quality. It measures (and predicts) environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity and air quality, and its cloud-based algorithms automatically regulate air flow. AirEx uses self-learning algorithms to predict occupants’ behaviour and weather pattern, to enable more efficient air-flow optimisation across the home. Furthermore, the real-time data collected from AirEx’s smart sensors layered with online data using predictive analytics, can support Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and Facility Managers to undertake more cost-effective and targeted preventative maintenance, as opposed to high-cost, unpredicted repair work (e.g. AirEx system can flag up indicators of mould risk or timber rot).
Ultimately, our vision is to become the UK’s first affordable smart ventilation control provider for existing homes through reducing energy consumption in a cheaper, non-intrusive way, without compromising damp and air quality.
