Q-Bot unveils new ‘super’ insulation robot as £2m cash boost promises scale-up

The co-founder of Q-Bot, the innovative robotic spray insulation system, has told CM that more than £2m of new investment from angel investors and the EU will be pumped into scaling up operations to deliver underfloor insulation to thousands of energy-inefficient homes.

And Q-Bot chief executive Mathew Holloway has revealed the company’s next generation of spray-bots are more rugged, with a folding design that allows them to be inserted into narrow openings.

Q-Bot robots are designed to enter difficult-to-reach spaces under floors in energy inefficient buildings, conduct surveys using a built-in camera and then spray insulation foam where required. 

They are able to enter underfloor voids either when inserted through air vents or external openings in a wall, or through an access hatch created in floorboards inside a property.

Parent company EcoMachines Ventures has just secured £305,000 of investment from several angel groups, which comes on top of £2.13m provided by the EU Commission’s Horizon 2020 Programme in late 2015.

Q-Bot has already developed more robust, reliable and powerful robots, says Holloway, but the funding will be used for further product development.

Holloway told CM: “The new robots feature four independently controlled drive wheels, designed to navigate over obstacles, bricks, sand and mud, and are powerful enough to pull a grown man across the floor. For their size, they have more power than a top-of-the-range sport car.

"We have been working with installers to make them easier to use. We try to gamify the experience using a gamepad controller to control the robots more easily and intuitively.

“The funding will be used to refine the robotic technology, for accreditation and third-party validation, and to scale up the delivery side, including our own operations team and those of franchise partners, training up their installation teams to use the robots.

The spray-bot is inserted into a void

“We also plan to build more robots and bring Q-Bot insulation to the market at scale, enabling us to improve thousands of homes at a time, as opposed to tens or hundreds.”

The business recently moved into a new office and workshop building, in preparation for expansion during 2016, where external contractors will be trained to deliver the insulation service.

Q-Bot is currently carrying out improvements to around 10 railway workers’ cottages for CityWest Homes and working with Islington Council on a scheme targeting properties occupied by vulnerable or unwell residents where cold and damp may be a factor in their illness.

“These jobs each cover tens of homes at a time, but they are rolling programmes so we could be talking hundreds of potential projects in the longer term,” added Holloway.

Earlier trials of Q-Bot by Camden Council and CityWest Homes on two of their properties revealed significant efficiency improvements.

At Camden, the application of 150mm of insulation to the underside of the property’s suspended timber ground floor resulted in a 86% improvement to the U-Value, from 1.25 W/m2.K to 0.19 W/m2.K, and a 40%improvement in air permeability, from 16.4 m3/hr.m2  to 9.8 m3/hr.m2.

In addition, the trial showed that Q-Bot underfloor insulation was shown to be twice as cost-effective as solid wall insulation, achieving energy savings equivalent to £175 per year, compared to £142/year for solid wall insulation and £57/year for double glazing.

Holloway commented: “Q-Bot is much more cost effective than other solutions applicable to old properties. Since the trial we have completed around 10 installations in homes for Camden Council and are now discussing with them how we can roll the service out at scale.” 

Q-Bot’s service is typically aimed at Victorian or Georgian-era period solid-walled properties with with suspended timber floors, often in conservation areas where it is not possible to alter the external features with insulation or replace windows with expensive historic replicas.