Ecowelle developed Eco Panel Homes to bring modular construction to terraced streets, semi-detached homes and other sites where access for lorries and cranes is limited. The panelised system can be transported in smaller components and assembled on site, opening up opportunities that conventional volumetric modular buildings may struggle to reach.
Working with London South Bank University (LSBU) through the BIG Growth Innovation Programme, Ecowelle gained an independent assessment of the system’s thermal performance, insulation requirements and readiness for UK regulation and certification. The findings reduced technical uncertainty and gave the company greater confidence to progress its first UK model and future product development.
Opening modular construction to constrained sites
Most modular buildings are delivered as large volumetric units. They require lorries, cranes and clear access, making them difficult to install on many of the terraced and semi-detached streets and confined sites that make up much of the UK’s housing stock.
Ecowelle set out to address this problem with Eco Panel Homes, a panelised modular system for residential and commercial buildings developed with a manufacturing partner in Hungary. The design was registered in 2025 and development was well under way, but the system had not yet been independently reviewed.
Building confidence in thermal performance and compliance
Before wider UK adoption, Ecowelle needed to verify the system’s U-values and heat-loss performance, understand its insulation requirements and build confidence in the robustness of the design. The company also needed clearer guidance on certification and regulatory requirements, including Part L of the Building Regulations.
Without an independent technical assessment, these questions created uncertainty for the R&D team and could have slowed the product’s route to market.
Testing the system against UK requirements
Ecowelle worked with LSBU’s College of Technology and Environment. Professor Issa Chaer, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, provided technical oversight and regulatory guidance. Dr Mubarak Abdelrasoul Elnour Ismail, Lecturer in Building Services Engineering, led the thermal modelling and simulation.
The work followed three phases:
- A technical review and gap analysis of the construction specifications
- Thermal modelling, dynamic simulation and assessment against UK Building Regulations
- Recommendations and final reporting
Delivery combined desk-based review with online and in-person meetings, allowing Ecowelle’s design data and the modelling results to be reviewed iteratively. Incomplete and changing design information was an early challenge, addressed through regular review meetings and additional information from the manufacturing partner
From technical assessment to a UK model
The project produced a technical assessment report, thermal modelling outputs, a compliance gap analysis, recommendations for product optimisation and guidance on certification and regulatory requirements.
Together, these outputs gave Ecowelle an evidence-based view of the system’s thermal performance, insulation needs and compliance position. Accessing this support through the programme also avoided the significantly higher cost of commissioning comparable specialist consultancy independently.
Ecowelle reported that the work gave its R&D team the confidence to progress and reduced its main concern around energy-efficiency compliance. The first Eco Panel Home was delivered to the UK in February 2026 and installed by the Ecowelle team during February and March 2026.
The company has since started marketing and sales and aims to offer habitable buildings from £1,000 per square metre. Ecowelle has hired one new member of staff to support R&D and expects further roles in sales, marketing and installation as the product grows. It is also working on a second model project and seeking funding to complete further testing and the next version.
Preparing for certification and further growth
Ecowelle plans to act on the report’s recommendations, pursue product certification, validate performance through physical testing and continue developing its UK offering. The company intends to reinvest sales income in R&D and work with investors and developers in the UK and internationally.
Both partners want to continue working together. Potential next steps include a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, further building performance studies, product testing and certification, and joint research projects.
Reducing risk through academic expertise
For Ecowelle, the value of the project lay in gaining independent academic expertise and modelling capability at the right stage of development. Professor Issa Chaer visited the Ecowelle studio in May 2025, when the company signed an agreement with its suppliers for the model project, making the offer of technical support particularly timely.
The project would have gone ahead without the programme, but more slowly and with greater technical and regulatory uncertainty. For LSBU, the work drew on its strengths in sustainable buildings and energy systems and created opportunities for applied research, industry engagement and future partnerships.
Both sides also identified an important learning point: early access to complete technical specifications is critical, while academic expertise can significantly reduce the risk involved in innovative construction projects.
“The BIG Growth Innovation Programme provides timely, specialist technical support that can help organisations turn promising ideas into practical solutions. This kind of support can also strengthen the economy by creating jobs and building skills in local communities.”
Ecowelle Limited
“The collaboration between Ecowelle and London South Bank University demonstrated the value of academic expertise in supporting innovation within sustainable construction. Through technical review, thermal modelling and regulatory assessment, the project provided evidence-based recommendations that strengthened the company’s readiness for UK market deployment while creating valuable knowledge-exchange opportunities for both partners.”
Professor Issa Chaer and Dr Mubarak Abdelrasoul Elnour Ismail, LSBU
Have an innovation challenge? Get in touch with us.
About the programme
The BIG Growth Innovation Programme connects South London businesses with academic expertise from London South Bank University and partner universities, delivering tailored collaborative support to help businesses innovate and grow. The programme is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) by the Greater London Authority. The aim of the UKSPF was to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and place, supporting local businesses, and developing people and skills.