• Home
• What's New
• Events
• Projects
  • Introduction
  • Team Details
  • Publications
  • Industrial Partners
• Downloadable papers
• People Profile
• PhDs associated with ICRC
• Contact Info
• Links
• Search

The UK has set a target for a reduction in CO₂ emissions by 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels (HM Government, 2008). The domestic sector accounts for 25% of UK emissions from the generation of heat and electricity for homes (DEFRA, 2008). For this sector to move to a low-carbon path, it will need to transform the environmental performance of housing. The transformation will require system-wide innovation and change comprising new technologies, new markets and new institutional supporting systems.

The supply of new homes to the UK housing stock will have a cumulative impact on the ability of the domestic sector to contribute to the 2050 carbon reduction target. The UK government has set a target that all new homes will need to be zero carbon by 2016 (DCLG, 2008). Further, one third of the housing stock (around 8 million new homes) will have been built between 2007 and 2050 (DCLG, 2007). The scale of new build is being given particular impetus by the UK government target of delivering 3 millions new homes by 2020 (DCLG, 2007). The new housing development industry is therefore a significant agent of change to bring about this low-carbon transformation in the domestic sector.

The research will study the impact of the growing raft of environmental regulations on the UK housing development sector through a technological innovation system (TIS) approach. To enable high level industry access and impact, the project is working closely with the NHBC Foundation. A broad view is taken of environmental regulations being one part of the institutional context that collectively structure socio-technical interactions and economic transactions through reframing and steering firm behaviour and economic activity in the housing development sector. The primary focus will be on microgeneration technology (MGT) field within this sector. The development and widespread diffusion of MGTs are seen as a key part of the drive to lower CO₂ emissions (DTI, 2006; Element Energy, 2008). The TIS for MGTs is the network(s) of agents interacting in the specific MGT organisational field within a particular institutional infrastructure to generate, diffuse and utilise those technologies. The specific objectives are to:

• map out the structural elements and functional pattern of the housing development TIS. The analysis will identify and describe current key processes and their interconnection. Functions, for instance, include the market formation and legitimisation of MGTs;
• identify and calibrate inducement and blocking mechanisms which are driving (or constraining) the functional pattern of the current MGT TIS;
• present recommendations for the goals, design, system-building and monitoring of the MGT TIS to steer the housing development sector on a low-carbon trajectory; and,
• develop a research agenda for contributing to the effort to progress the transformation of the MGT TIS in the housing development sector.