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Electric wallpaper warming Scottish homes in winter [1]

['Rob Beschizza']

Date: 2024-10-23

Britons are always looking for ways to insulate the nation's ancient housing stock. Retrofitting is expensive, space is at a premium, and the housing crisis means what little new housing exists is of low quality in other respects. Researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have developed an electric wallpaper that can be fixed to ceilings as well as walls.

Electric wallpaper is being piloted in 12 tenement properties in Glasgow to assess its effectiveness as a clean heat source, as part of a project led by the University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, West of Scotland Housing Association and Glasgow City Council – with recent funding from Scotland Beyond Net Zero. Scotland's homes are among the oldest in the world and the worst insulated in Europe, which contributes to their high carbon footprint. Heating buildings is a major contributor to carbon emissions in Scotland and across the UK, accounting for more than 36% of total emissions. The average Scottish home loses heat three times faster than homes in many European countries, and gas central heating – which relies on fossil fuels – is the most common heating system. Dr Ahmad Taha from the University of Glasgow and Dr Alejandro Moreno-Rangel from the University of Strathclyde are working with West of Scotland Housing Association and Glasgow City Council to explore the feasibility of electric wallpaper as a viable, eco-friendly replacement for gas central heating. The technology, which uses the Internet-of-Things and AI-enabled data analytics to collect information on efficiency, comfort, and tenant's feedback, is being piloted in properties owned and managed by West of Scotland Housing Association.

How does it work?

Electric wallpaper is a thin surface powered by electricity. It consists of strips of copper and graphene and releases infrared radiation that can warm the house without releasing any emissions. Electricity for the wallpaper can be sourced from offshore wind farms, making it a clean heating source. The wallpaper can be fixed to the ceiling without much hassle, and the place can start warming in about three minutes when initiated. More importantly, the warmth provided is free of combustion fumes, which typically deteriorate the air quality inside homes. The researchers are monitoring the approach's efficacy using Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors and artificial intelligence (AI)- -enabled analytics.

According to other research, the average home in the UK loses heat three times faster than others in Europe—an outcome with complex causes.

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2024/10/23/electric-wallpaper-warming-scottish-homes-in-winter.html

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