Research
Research and expertise
I am currently researching ways to improve thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and health in buildings. My work centres on the measurement and modelling of the indoor environment, with a particular focus on overheating and indoor air quality. I also lead projects on building performance, with a focus on airtightness and infiltration.
My fieldwork is conducted in buildings across several climates, such as extreme heat in informal settlements in the tropics, and indoor air quality in tropical hospitals and large mass-gathering event venues in the UK. My experimental work is centred on the synthetically-occupied Loughborough Matched Pair test houses in the UK, and full-scale test cells in Ghana.
In temperate climates, I am investigating how to ensure that the predictions of overheating by models are accurate for the new building regulations. I have published award-winning research on the subject and I am currently leading the Reliable Overheating Modelling in Modern Apartments (ROMMA) project.
Read more about my work at: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/experts/ben-roberts/
Recent research recordings include:
- Extreme Heat - ERBE/CIBSE YPG Seminar 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DF5paDpfjQ
- Extreme Heat - AECB Webinar 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glPnkpe2kuY
- Indoor Air Quality – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-gquKHO0VI&t=3370s
- Healthy Buildings - Experts In Health Podcast 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0tkTuclp7U
- Extreme Heat – ERBE Seminar 2022 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyllYN8FHHE&t=94s
Current research & innovation activity
- Gathering evidence to improve airtightness in the UK housing stock, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, (2023-2025), Principal Investigator
- Reliable Overheating Modelling in Modern Apartments (ROMMA), Tyréns Research & Innovation, (2023-2025), Principal Investigator
- A socio-technical evaluation of external shading to mitigate summertime overheating in UK homes (PhD Studentship), British Blind & Shutter Association, (2023-2027), Principal Investigator
- Embedding adaptation to climate change into the Building Regulations, EPSRC IAA and CIBSE, (2024-2025), Co-Investigator
- Smart Windows evaluation (Enhanced Clean Air Innovation Trials), InnovateUK, (2024-2025), Co-Investigator
Recently completed research & innovation projects
- Reducing the Impact of Extreme Heat to Improve Wellbeing in Cities (REFIT), British Academy (2020-2022), Research Associate.
- Airborne Infection Reduction through Building Operation and Design for SARS-CoV-2 (AIRBODS), EPSRC (2021-2022), Research Associate.
- Vice Chancellor’s Independent Research Fellow EPSRC (2022-2024), Principal Investigator.
- Improving the Predictions of Overheating (IMPROVE), Tyrens (2021-2023), Principal Investigator.
- Technical Evaluation of SMETER Technologies (TEST), BEIS (2019-2022), Research Associate.
Completed Doctoral Researchers
- Dr Max Eastwood (2025) Variability in the Heat Transfer Coefficient of dwellings