Electric wallpaper: Glasgow tenements to trial new heating system
The new technology is being piloted in 12 Glasgow homes
Scientists in Glasgow are trying something a little bit off the wall as an alternative to central heating - by trialling 'electric wallpaper'.
The new technology 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.
Electric wallpaper works by combining graphene nano-technology onto what is essentially a sheet of toughened wallpaper with a strip of copper running down each edge, which is then connected to the mains electricity.
This allows the graphene sheet to radiate infra-red heating into the room.
In turn, the electric wallpaper heats up objects in the room, including humans, as opposed to heating up the air like conventional systems do.
Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Convener for Neighbourhood Services at Glasgow City Council said: “Glasgow has around 70,000 tenement flats, so finding new solutions to more efficiently heating them is vital to reaching a net zero future.
"Innovative pilot projects such as this are vital when considering how best to help tackle the issues of energy costs and emissions in Glasgow’s homes.”
Funded by Scotland Beyond Net Zero – a coalition of leading climate and sustainability experts from Scotland's universities – this trial is one of eight new research collaborations aimed at accelerating Scotland’s transition to net zero.
Each project involves cross-sector collaborations to address sustainability challenges in energy, finance, food, the built environment, natural systems, and transport.