A core aim of the HESTIA Network is to facilitate new research partnerships through funding feasibility studies to understand the role that different engineering interventions and technologies can play in home environments to improve human and environmental health for everyone.
Following a two-day in-person ‘Sandpit’ in May 2026 bringing together different researchers & non-academic organisations to develop ideas for research projects on indoor environments within people’s homes, four new transdisciplinary research projects have been funded, focused on healthy, sustainable, and equitable housing.
The funded projects:
Healthy Homes, Cleaner Air: Combining Air Quality Kitchen Extraction Technology with Resident Engagement
Dr Darpan Das,
University of York
Cooking can produce high levels of tiny air pollution particles inside homes. Inadequate ventilation practices can result in people being exposed to unhealthy indoor air due to cooking. In the present study, we will work directly with London Borough of Waltham Forest’s Independent Living Schemes who support residents aged 50+ to live independently in sheltered housing settings. Firstly, through focus group discussions we will assess the barrier and motivation associated with mitigating cooking-related pollution. Second, we will use the findings of the focus group discussions to design cooking experiments in the University of York’s unique test house facility, to quantify the pollutants released from representative cooking and extraction scenarios. Finally, a workshop will share findings, demonstrate air pollution under different cooking conditions and receive feedback from participants on how to best implement technical (e.g extraction systems) and behavioural interventions (e.g sensor prompting). The findings will provide early evidence on both performance and acceptability, supporting a larger follow-on study in real homes in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
Project Team: Sharon Isaac-Upton (Airbon Ltd.), Michelle Ellis (public member), Nathanael Harwood (London Borough of Waltham Forest), Claudia Castro Faccetti (CELIA CIC)
AirSmart Homes: Co-producing low-energy air cleaning for healthier homes
Dr Janice Foster,
Glasgow School of Art
Many people living in cold, damp or mould-affected homes face a practical problem: opening windows may reduce pollutants but can make the home colder and more expensive to heat. Social landlords also need evidence on successful interim measures while root causes of damp/mould are investigated before repair. This six-month feasibility study will examine whether demand-led, low-energy air purification can be used safely and acceptably in real occupied homes as part of a wider housing and mould-management response. In two Glasgow rented homes with reported damp/mould or poor indoor air concerns, we will compare indoor conditions before use, during manual use and during automatic artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) -controlled use. We will monitor particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, relative humidity, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), device electricity use and household utility readings, with exploratory airborne mould/bacteria sampling. Residents and a public co-applicant with relevant lived experience will help shape the protocol, materials, interpretation and guidance. The study will not claim health outcomes from two homes. Its value is to test recruitment, ethics, monitoring, data quality, running cost, acceptability and practical deployment, producing a protocol and pilot evidence for a larger multi-home trial with councils or social landlords.
Project Team:
Dr Chunli Cao (HATL), Michaela Hay (public member), Dr Filbert Musau (Glasgow School of Art), Mel Robson (Steri Systems Ltd.)
RADAR: Reprioritising Asset investment through co-designed Data Analysis for healthier and climate-Resilient social homes
Dr Alice Handy,
Imperial College London
Social landlords face a serious dilemma in how to invest their limited resources to simultaneously future-proof existing homes against extreme climate change, meet new building safety regulations, and build more affordable homes. Meanwhile, new laws to quickly remove damp, mould and other hazards have the potential to incentivise a “sticking plaster” approach. In response, this project partners with managers and tenants of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) in Manchester to investigate how social landlords can better utilise their own housing management data, informed by tenants’ lived experiences, to make smarter investment decisions for achieving healthier, climate-resilient homes. Specifically, we aim to identify which types of housing are at higher risk of health and climate-related issues by analysing the existing stock condition and repairs data from WCHG’s 14,000 homes with live information from smart sensors already placed in 267 homes. By also listening to tenants’ experiences and perceptions, we will evaluate the effectiveness of new smart technologies for both enhancing repair systems and informing tenants’ own strategies for improving indoor environmental quality in affordable ways. Finally, we will co-design a future research project aimed at building a digital model of WCHG’s homes to support proactive, human-centred, and cost-effective repair and retrofitting.
Project Team:
Adila Naseer (Wythenshawe Community Housing Group) Lucy Collins (Public member), Stuart Hodkinson (University of Leeds), Claudia Castro Faccetti (CELIA CIC). They are supported by an Advisory Group including Otto-Emil Jutila (UKHSA), Faye Sanders (University of Bath), and Jenny Danson (Healthy Homes Hub).
Ageing, Thermal Comfort, and the Historical Environment
Dr Aissa Sabbagh-Gomez
Lancaster University
The UK has one of the oldest housing stocks in Europe; with around 20% of homes constructed before 1919, approximately 5.8 million dwellings that are now more than a century old. Thermally effective adaptations of this housing stock are key for the efforts to meet Net Zero targets. Furthermore, when dealing with historical environment, adaptations must not only be effective, but sensitive to the preservation of heritage, upholding a sense of place, identity, continuity and belonging. In this tug-of-war between historical importance and future proofing of existing housing stock, how are the needs of vulnerable residents being considered? This research investigates how retrofit technologies (e.g. improved envelopes and radiant panels) at Whiteley Village—a Grade II listed, Trust-run 65+ almshouses built c.1912 for “needy poor in their old age”—support healthy ageing. Through environmental monitoring, interviews and workshops, we will examine how residents tailor their home environments to meet their thermal comfort needs (e.g. using fan heaters), evaluate combined adaptations influence on wellbeing, sleep and vulnerability to cold-related illness, considering where they align with, or compromise low-carbon performance, affordability and accessibility. Our findings will inform future research and help create healthier, more comfortable, and sustainable homes for older adults.
Project team:
Dr Claudia Castro Faccetti (CELIA CIC), Delicia Ward (public member), Joy Jones (public member), Dr Janice Foster (Glasgow School of Art), Dr Laura Wareing (Lancaster University) Jenny Danson (Healthy Homes Hub), and Whiteley Homes Trust.
We are delighted to fund these ambitious and exciting research projects that will advance our knowledge on developing healthy, sustainable, and equitable housing. We are particularly pleased that they are all led by early career researchers, and all meaningfully involve the public. We look forward to seeing the results of these projects soon.
Dr Douglas Booker, HESTIA Network Lead