An electric wallpaper is being tested as an environmentally friendly alternative as a central heating system for buildings. The tests are carried out in housing complexes where people with very low incomes live and these buildings are owned by the State or non-governmental organizations.
Scotland’s homes are among the oldest and worst insulated in Europe, with around 70,000 blocks of flats in Glasgow alone and heating accounting for more than 36% of total emissions coal in Great Britain. The average home in Britain loses heat three times faster than in many European countries.
Electric wallpaper is being trialled in 12 homes in Glasgow, owned and managed by the West of Scotland Housing Association, to assess its effectiveness as a “clean” heat source. “We have been trialling this technology for a few months and have received great feedback from our tenants,” said Andrew Kubski, executive at West of Scotland Housing Association.
It is hoped that electric wallpaper, applied to the ceiling, will become a viable replacement for central heating. Time still needed to collect comprehensive consumption data energy of the wallpaper.
The technology
Research team led by Dr Ahmad Taha from the University of Glasgow and Dr Alejandro Moreno-Rangell from the University of Strathclyde, working on technology including the Internet of Things and data analysis with artificial intelligence technology to collect information about efficiency, comfort and feedback from tenants.
The Internet of Things allows unified networks of physical objects to transmit information and data between each other using the Internet. Funded by Scotland Beyond Net Zero, a coalition of leading climate and sustainability experts from Scotland’s universities, the trial is one of eight new research partnerships that aim to take Britain to zero carbon in the near future.
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