HESTIA: Home Environment Solutions through Technology and Innovation for All

HESTIA: Home Environment Solutions through Technology and Innovation for All
Background
The UK housing stock is undergoing an unprecedented transformation to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and meet Net Zero targets. However, minimal attention is being paid to the impact of such a radical change on indoor environmental quality, physical and mental health and wellbeing, and equity.
Objectives
Delivering low-carbon, healthy, and equitable homes through design and retrofit will need multiple different technologies; current efforts focus primarily on building fabric or system upgrades, yet there are significant opportunities through replacement technologies, smart devices, and consumer products. The Home Environment Solutions through Technology and Innovation for All (HESTIA) Network aims to understand the combined impact of existing and emerging technologies, and their interactions with social and behavioural factors to deliver healthy and sustainable homes for the future.
Method
HESTIA has brought together a transdisciplinary community spanning engineering, the built and natural environmental sciences, health, and social sciences, industry, local authorities, healthcare professionals, building engineers, architects, and end users.
Results
HESTIA will lay the foundation to address the challenge of how to most effectively implement technologies to design and retrofit housing to maximise human and environmental health co-benefits and reduce health inequalities. Our ultimate goal is to accelerate the creation of indoor home environments that meet Net Zero targets while promoting physical and mental health and wellbeing for all, considering the interface of technologies and social factors. Working with researchers, project partners, and stakeholders and public members we will co-design and deliver equitable housing research and innovative solutions, while also developing future research leaders equipped to work across disciplines and sectors.
Conclusion
HESTIA will create a new health-equity-centred engineering approach to home design and retrofit, integrating existing and emerging building technologies to maximise human and environmental health co-benefits, and minimise health inequalities.