Energy tech company Sero has collaborated with Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC) to create a new mobile classroom in a drive to upskill students, apprentices, and tradespeople in low carbon technology.
Know Your Power will tour Wales hosting specialist workshops, demonstrating low carbon technologies in both new-builds and retrofit housing. In addition, the state-of-the-art facility will be based at the University of Wales Trinity St. David’s Swansea Innovation Quarter. This will especially aim to support those already established in their trades to adapt to changes within the industry.
As well as providing training opportunities, the hands-on design of the classroom’s equipment makes it an ideal research hub, which will power investigations into net zero technology in the home.
The Know Your Power initiative follows the Welsh Government’s announcement that fossil fuels will no longer be used to heat newly built social homes, with an ambition for private developers to adopt the new development quality requirements by 2025. Homes will need to reach the highest energy efficiency standards to reduce carbon use during the construction phase and when being lived in by residents.
The sessions will include a mix of technical presentations and practical ‘watch and do’ sessions, where participants can practice the installation, maintenance and troubleshooting of zero carbon technologies within the home including:
- Ground and air source heat pumps
- Hot water cylinders
- Solar glass
- Underfloor heating
- Battery storage and EV charging
Gareth Evans, Head of CWIC said: “More and more individuals need support as the industry moves towards net zero. A lot of people learnt their trade before net zero technology became more mainstream, and so this initiative will ensure everyone has the opportunity to feel confident and capable in a changing world.”
Andy Sutton, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Sero, said: “Net zero is about everybody moving forward together to reduce the carbon impact of our homes, and SMEs have such a key part to play in our journey towards achieving this. Collaboration within the industry is essential to help underpin the development of the skills and expertise required across Wales, and we are looking forward to working with CWIC to enable local students, as well as people across Wales to get to know their power and help deliver net zero in all our homes.”
This project is part of the wider ongoing programme of activity aimed at upskilling the workforce in Wales in green skills as part of the Optimised Retrofit pathway project that has received £13m funding through the Welsh Government’s Optimised Retrofit Programme, which is part of the Innovative Housing Programme. The aim of the scheme is to help reduce the carbon footprint of existing social housing in Wales, to make energy bills more manageable for residents, and provide new job and training opportunities.
