Researchers from Swansea University are joining the £6 million UCL-led CHILI Hub to investigate how energy-efficient school buildings affect indoor air quality and children’s health.
The CHILI Hub, which includes UCL, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the UK Health Security Agency, the University of Leeds, the University of York, Imperial College London, and Swansea University, will examine how indoor environments in energy-efficient buildings impact child and adolescent health.
The £42 million funding, announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will support seven new transdisciplinary research hubs exploring ways to ensure the UK’s transition to net zero also protects and promotes physical and mental health. The hubs, funded by UKRI and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will each receive up to £6 million to deliver high-impact research focused on reducing health inequalities.
With schools and nurseries accounting for 15% of carbon emissions from public buildings, the CHILI Hub will explore the unintended consequences of airtight, energy-efficient designs—such as increased indoor pollution and heat retention on children’s health and wellbeing.
Professor Hardelid, CHILI Hub Director based at UCL said: “We are delighted to have received this funding from the NIHR and UKRI, focusing on how we can improve the physical and mental health of children and young people whilst making school and nursery buildings more energy efficient.
Schools and nurseries are crucial environments where children learn, develop, socialise and eventually take exams. Our research will support schools and nursery buildings to become carbon neutral whilst maximising children’s health, learning and wellbeing.
We will involve children, young people and their school communities throughout our project to find workable solutions that best support them.”
Professor Rich Fry, who leads the Swansea University team within the CHILI Hub, added, “We are excited to collaborate with colleagues across the CHILI Hub on this important research. Our team in Swansea specialises in linking environmental and health data to understand how the spaces in which we live, learn, and work impact our wellbeing.
Using local expertise, including data created from wet-lab pollution exposures to advanced in-vitro lung cell systems led by Professor Martin Clift and the national HAPPEN primary school cohort led Dr Michaela James, we will explore how indoor air quality in schools and nurseries affects children’s health.
By analysing real-world data and actively involving children’s voices in the process, we aim to ensure that efforts to make educational buildings more energy efficient create healthier environments for children to learn and thrive.”
The CHILI Hub is part of UKRI’s strategic investment to accelerate the UK’s transition to a green economy. It is supported by various councils, including the Medical Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council. This initiative aligns with the UK’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, ensuring that health remains central to sustainable development.
For more information on the seven new research hubs including CHILI Hub, visit the UKRI website.