Research and Development

A desire to remain at the leading-edge

United House has always innovated and from our earliest days we have introduced many groundbreaking products and systems to the marketplace.

We are currently exploring ideas for funding University research into developing high performance insulation materials and testing our high performance cavity wall insulation. We are also finding innovative ways to use established materials, for example we ran the first refurbishment project to use vacuum double glazing (with a 0.2mm gap) at our Aubert Park eco-home in Islington.

In the Government’s Technology Strategy Board competition to develop new products, we won funding to further develop our WHISCERS™ process (Whole House In Situ Carbon and Energy Reduction System) as part of the 'Retrofit for the Future' competition.

The refurbishment of tower blocks has been the focus of recent R&D. By combining external over-cladding, Grade A boilers and upgraded glazing, we achieved a 30% reduction in the carbon footprint of five buildings on the Chalcots Estate in Camden.

Our proprietary Value Carbon method is also playing an important role in reducing CO₂ emissions, and has been trialled at our Aubert Park eco-home. Value Carbon measures the value of improvements by delivering the biggest cuts in household bills and carbon emissions for the lowest cost, and in this case led to a 70% reduction.

We have designed the first care home in the country to PassivHaus standards, incorporating high levels of insulation, mechanical ventilation and solar gain to provide high levels of air tightness, thermal efficiency, excellent comfort and indoor air quality.