As a flurry of fine snow falls on two newly constructed dwellings within a large laboratory in northern England, the temperature drops below zero. Despite the freezing temperatures, the two energy-efficient houses stay pleasant and toasty thanks to cutting-edge heating and insulation technologies. Welcome to Energy House 2.0, a research experiment meant to assist the world’s housebuilders in reducing carbon emissions, conserving energy, and combating climate change.
The initiative, which is situated in a facility resembling a massive warehouse on the Salford University campus near Manchester’s downtown, began last month. Rain, wind, sunlight, and snow may be generated in temperatures ranging from 40 to -20 degrees Celsius using a control centre.
Weather simulation
“What we’ve sought to do here is to be able to reproduce the meteorological conditions that would be experienced around 95 percent of the inhabited Earth,” said Professor Will Swan, director of the university’s energy house laboratory.
The facility, which consists of two chambers that may experience diverse climates at the same time, will test house styles from across the globe “to understand how we offer their net-zero and energy-efficient homes,” he said. The two residences, which are distinctively British and were built by companies with UK operations, will be there for a few years.
Other builders will subsequently be able to hire space in the lab to showcase their own homes. The first home in the project was developed by Barratt Developments in the United Kingdom and Saint-Gobain in France. It is coated in ornamental brickwork over a wood panelled and insulated frame, with solar panels on the roof. Scientists are investigating the effectiveness of various heating methods, including air-source heat pumps.
A hot-water circuit runs down the bottom of the walls in the living room, and additional heat is delivered through infrared technology in the moulding and from a wall panel. Mirrors also function as infrared radiators, and several sensors track which rooms are in use. Residents will be able to handle the technology via a single control system, much like Amazon’s voice-activated Alexa interface.
Builders predict that the cutting-edge technology will result in an energy cost that is one-quarter of what the typical UK house presently spends, which will be a godsend to clients who are struggling with sky-high energy rates. It will also contribute significantly to Britain’s attempts to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 in order to tackle climate change.
According to a parliamentary research, residences accounted for 17 percent of heating emissions from buildings in 2019, equaling the contribution of all petrol and diesel automobiles on British roads. Environmentalists have long urged the UK government to provide energy efficiency and insulation help for existing houses throughout the country.
‘Home energy Alexa’
“One of the important technologies that we’re experimenting with on this home is almost like a building management system for residential structures,” said Tom Cox, Saint-UK Gobain’s technical director.
“It’s almost like the Alexa of the home energy system—and it can be automated to whatever degree the tenant desires.”
Scientists and businesses no longer have to wait for dramatic weather fluctuations thanks to their mega-laboratory.
“In a week, we can test a year’s worth of weather conditions,” Cox remarked.
“The ultimate aim is to create an atmosphere that is pleasant, financially efficient, and commercially feasible to offer,” Cox noted.
“At the same time, we’re tackling the sustainability challenges in building.”
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