Steve Goodhew is Professor of Environmental Building and Associate Head of School for Architecture, Design and Environment. An expert in the use of thermography to improve building performance, he is a drafting member of ISO 9869 'Thermal insulation - Building elements - In-situ measurement of thermal resistance and thermal transmittance'.
A new generation of energy-efficient buildings
As Principal Investigator of the €4million-funded CobBauge project , Steve leads a team of researchers who aim to reduce the amount of carbon emissions created by the building sector. A winner of the 2019 RegioStar Award, the project has created a unique double-layered wall that optimises cob as a sustainable building material. It is now being used in the construction of a new ‘living lab’ building on the University campus.
Steve was also a team member of one of the first studies to ascertain the thermal influence on living wall systems on existing building temperature scenarios. Part of the Low Carbon Devon project, these findings could be a game-changer in helping the UK achieve its net-zero commitments by reducing greenhouse gas emissions directly created by buildings. Steve's extensive expertise in thermography is also supporting the UK's ambitious efficiency targets. The DeViz: Defect Visualisation via Thermography project uses thermal imaging to identify defects in the building and maintenance of buildings, with the aim for this to be a core component of the construction process.
Improving health through building performance
During the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, Steve piloted the use of thermal-imaging scanners on patients and staff entering the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust hospital. The technology alerted to anyone with a temperature outside of ‘normal range’ to keep patients and staff safe.
This work is also being applied to University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust to identify low core body temperature in patients that can cause complications in surgery. It also assesses the temperature of the built environment – including air humidity and surface temperature – and its role in effecting core body temperature.
The person behind the pioneer
CobBauge: offering an ultra-low carbon alternative to concrete
To enquire about future collaborations, please contact Professor Steve Goodhew
If the UK is to hit its ambitious efficiency targets, then we need to ensure that our buildings are performing to their maximum capabilities. We’re trying to change the world, physically change it.
Professor Steve Goodhew
Current projects and research activity
Plymouth Pioneers: sustainable earth researchers
Voice of a sustainable earth
Our research addresses and responds to the global challenges facing communities as a result of climate change and unsustainable practices to improve our understanding of the environment, its changes and impacts. We continue to build innovative partnerships with industry and government, and use the University’s research expertise to engage with a range of challenges, from the low carbon agenda to water quality and food security in the developing world.
Our researchers have shown that future rainfall could outweigh current climate predictions and identified how to enhance manufactured soils to become more sustainable. We are working with communities around the world to respond to challenges around air, water, energy and food security, including Tanzania, South Africa, Peru, the European Alps and the Arctic.
