Living Lab & Demonstrator Partnerships

Real Buildings. Real Evidence. Real Collaboration.

TPAE is exploring collaborative Living Lab and demonstrator opportunities with institutions interested in understanding the operational realities of thermal performance within low-carbon estates.

Explore Partnership Opportunities What is a Living Lab?

Understanding the Model

What is a Living Lab?

A Living Lab is a real-world environment in which applied research, operational learning, and capability development occur within actual buildings — rather than in simulated or laboratory conditions.

In the TPAE context, a Living Lab is an institutional building or estate environment where thermal performance assurance concepts, sensing systems, and operational evidence approaches can be explored, tested, and validated in real conditions — with real heating systems, real occupancy patterns, and real operational challenges.

Living Lab environments are not experiments imposed on buildings — they are collaborative partnerships in which institutions learn alongside the initiative, contribute their operational insight, and benefit directly from the evidence and capability development that the engagement produces.

TPAE Living Lab Definition

"A collaborative, real-world institutional environment in which thermal performance assurance concepts, operational evidence approaches, and emerging engineering capability are explored, developed, and validated — generating applied learning for both the initiative and the host institution."

The Collaboration Model

How a Living Lab Partnership Works.

Living Lab partnerships are structured around four broad stages — designed to be flexible, low-disruption, and genuinely collaborative rather than prescriptive.

Stage One

Initial Conversation & Context

An exploratory conversation to understand your institution's built environment, heating systems, Net Zero obligations, and areas of operational interest. No commitment required at this stage — the goal is mutual understanding and fit assessment.

Exploratory dialogue Context understanding No obligation

Stage Two

Baseline & Environment Assessment

A structured assessment of the proposed Living Lab environment — understanding existing thermal systems, operational data availability, estate management context, and the specific performance questions the collaboration will explore.

Environment scoping Thermal system review Collaboration design

Stage Three

Active Living Lab Engagement

The active phase of collaboration — deploying sensing and assurance approaches within the environment, generating operational evidence, and developing applied capability alongside the host institution's estates and sustainability teams.

Sensing deployment Evidence generation Applied learning Collaborative exploration

Stage Four

Evidence, Insight & Pathway

Structured evidence outputs and applied learning shared with the host institution — including thermal performance insights, operational visibility data, and capability development outputs that can inform future estate strategy, reporting, and workforce development.

Performance evidence Operational insights Capability outputs Future pathway

Where We Work

Suitable Living Lab Environments.

TPAE Living Lab partnerships are appropriate for a wide range of institutional building environments — wherever low-carbon heating systems are operating and operational performance evidence matters.

🏛️

Colleges & Universities

Higher education estates with low-carbon heating systems, sustainability obligations, and an appetite for applied research and capability development collaboration.

Academic collaboration Research potential Large estates

🏘️

Housing Associations

Social housing estates with retrofit programmes, heat pump deployments, or low-carbon heating systems seeking operational evidence and performance assurance.

Retrofit evidence Compliance support Tenant outcomes

🏢

Public Estates & Councils

Public sector buildings with Net Zero obligations, decarbonisation programmes, and requirements to demonstrate operational energy and thermal performance evidence.

Public sector Net Zero evidence Portfolio scale

💡

Innovation Campuses

Innovation hubs, enterprise zones, and technology campuses with modern low-carbon infrastructure seeking to demonstrate operational performance leadership.

Innovation context Demonstration value Leadership positioning

🔧

Retrofit-Linked Environments

Buildings that have recently undergone retrofit or heating system upgrades and are seeking to validate that interventions are delivering intended operational performance outcomes.

Post-retrofit Validation Performance evidence

🌿

Sustainability-Led Environments

Organisations with active sustainability programmes, Net Zero commitments, or climate action plans seeking operational evidence to support reporting, communication, and stakeholder confidence.

ESG reporting Sustainability evidence Stakeholder assurance

What Partners Gain

Living Lab Partnership Outcomes.

Host institutions are not simply providing a venue — they are active partners in a collaborative exploration that generates real value for their estates, operations, and teams.

Operational Thermal Visibility

Structured evidence of real thermal performance across the Living Lab environment — room-level data, system behaviour insight, and performance pattern visibility that is not typically available from standard estate management tools.

Evidence for Reporting & Compliance

Structured, operational performance evidence that can directly support Net Zero reporting obligations, funder reporting requirements, board-level assurance, and regulatory compliance evidence needs.

Applied Capability Development

Exposure to emerging thermal performance assurance concepts, digital building intelligence approaches, and evidence-led operational practices — building internal capability within estates and sustainability teams.

Research & Innovation Positioning

For academic institutions — direct involvement in an applied engineering initiative with research potential, publication opportunity, student project connection, and industry collaboration value.

Ecosystem Connection

Connection to the TPAE ecosystem — including industry partners, innovation networks, funding landscape navigation, and the broader FutureTherma Labs infrastructure and climate-tech community.

Early Initiative Engagement

Founding Living Lab partners engage at the earliest stage of the initiative — shaping its direction, informing its methodology, and positioning their institution as a leader in evidence-led thermal performance.

Partnership Criteria

Is Your Institution a Good Fit?

TPAE Living Lab partnerships are designed to be accessible and low-barrier — not restricted to large institutions with advanced sustainability programmes. The most important criteria are curiosity, collaboration, and a genuine interest in understanding thermal performance in your buildings.

Low-carbon or transitioning heating systemsHeat pumps, district heating, hybrid systems, or buildings undergoing or planning retrofit.

Net Zero or sustainability obligationsRegulatory, funder, or board-level requirements to demonstrate operational performance evidence.

Openness to collaborationWillingness to engage estates, facilities, and sustainability teams in an exploratory partnership.

Interest in applied learningAppetite to develop internal understanding of thermal performance assurance as an operational capability.

What is NOT Required

Prior experience with thermal performance monitoring

Advanced sustainability programme or dedicated team

Existing data infrastructure or BMS system

IT integration or network changes

Large estate or multiple buildings

Formal research or academic structure

Significant internal resource commitment

Any financial commitment at initial conversation stage