University of Salford Energy House 2.0 under construction

Professor William Swan, director of Energy House Laboratories at the University of Salford said:

“Salford has built a fantastic capability in researching energy efficiency at the whole building level. Controlled conditions mean we can repeat experiments in a way that cannot be done outside. We can cut study times from years to a matter of weeks. This type of capability allows us to support low carbon innovation in a way that is not possible elsewhere.”

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham is an advocate of the work undertaken by the team at Energy House and commented that the research and testing that takes place has and will play a role in his vision to make the region a leading green city and carbon neutral by 2038.

Andy Burnham said:

“A key part of delivering Greater Manchester’s target to be carbon neutral by 2038 is in reducing emissions from our homes. We need our buildings to become more energy efficient and use renewable energy more effectively, and Energy House 2.0 will help us define how to achieve this. The facilities on offer are unique in the UK and will help businesses to test new equipment and mechanisms to reduce carbon emissions. The Energy House team at the University of Salford have been big supporters of the green city-region agenda in Greater Manchester. They have contributed significantly to the development our environmental plans and are one of the founding partners of our new Energy Innovation Agency. It is an exciting new facility that will not only help to secure a greener Greater Manchester but will put our city-region on the map as an international leader in improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings.”

In Energy House 2.0, four furnished houses will sit within the chambers – two in each – with a total footprint of more than 1,000 square meters. Octopus Energy’s future technologies division, the main partner in the project, will enable the lab to have access to 100 percent green electricity, Octopus’s ground-breaking time-of-use tariffs and state-of-the-art energy hardware. The homes will be fitted with smart energy technology including smart meters, in-home displays, and vehicle-to-grid solutions.

There will be space to park electric vehicles and connect them to the homes in order to test vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology – where renewable energy stored in a car battery pushes power back to the grid – in different weather. The chambers will also be accessible by vehicles to allow for offsite methods to be researched.

Greg Jackson, chief executive officer and founder of Octopus Energy, said:

“At Octopus, we use technology to make energy cheaper and greener – so we are delighted to supply the energy and smart technology for one of the most exciting research projects in the UK that is doing just that.”