Salford Smart Home

Working with Energy House Labs, Barratt Developments built a revolutionary house: the Salford Smart Home (formerly known as the Barratt Zed House) – the first home in the UK that takes sustainability beyond the current Future Homes Standards.

The Salford Smart Home is fitted with several sensors that will record data for Energy House Labs research. It will be monitored to assess its performance using the research and expertise of the University’s Energy House Laboratories.

It is the first new home in the country built by a major housebuilder to go beyond the new Future Homes Standard by delivering a carbon reduction of 125%.

The house was developed as an industry showcase home to demonstrate what is achievable, particularly from a mainstream, volume housebuilder. The new home was built with over 40 leading industry partners from across the housebuilding, sustainability and technology sectors, all helping to broaden knowledge in zero carbon living with the lessons learnt from the construction being shared across the industry.

The house features cutting edge technology such as overhead infrared panels that provide instant zero carbon heat, new air powered showers that will save families in water and heating bills, plaster which eliminates pollutants giving cleaner, healthier air, a fridge which keeps the right humidity resulting in 60% less food wastage, and innovative heated skirting boards delivering 10% more heat than traditional radiators whilst also saving space.

The Salford Smart Home was constructed using the latest building methods incorporating Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) such as closed panel timber frames with highly insulated cladding, factory fitted windows and offsite panelised masonry ground floor wall panels, reducing the need for bricklayers and the time it takes to build by half. It includes the most modern sustainable housing technology such as an air source heat pump, EV charging points, PV solar panels, and battery storage.

Outside the Salford Smart Home, there is a biodiversity garden featuring nests, a wildlife pond, hedgehog highways, and green wall. The team worked with experts from RSPB and Barratt to help promote wildlife and nature at the house, with the garden achieving a gold rating from RSPB.