A sinister engineer in orange overalls and dark glasses looms from behind your fridge, hands raised, as if to strike… This is the scenario painted in the Daily Mail in a 2013 article on ‘direct load control’, or the possibility that third parties (‘outside forces’) such as energy suppliers could turn appliances in people’s home off and on to help keep the UK’s electricity system in balance. (more…)

This week is British Science Week and last week the EPSRC held its ‘science for a successful nation’ conference. This made me reflect on the use of scientific methods in building performance research, which is essential for us to understand and improve the buildings we design, build, operate, transform and live in. (more…)

Most of us know that we need to reduce how much energy we use – but did you know that the timing of our energy use will also make a difference to the fight against climate change? (more…)

By Tia Kansara, UCL Energy Institute PhD student. Continue the conversation with Tia: @2050city

Thermal comfort is the study of the human psychological, physiological and physical environment. It is a vast subject buried in the science of comfort in the outdoors and indoors. Research, like how we feel comfortable in the buildings and cities we design – is of core value for architects (designers), governments (policy-makers), engineers (construction specialists) and occupants (you and me). (more…)