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Smart Meters > Smart Homes Laboratory

Smart Meters > Smart Homes (SMSH) is an industry-facing laboratory, developed in partnership with leading digital energy companies and organisations. The SMSH Laboratory was launched in December 2019 and since then has evolved into a hub for digital energy innovation in the built environment.

Our mission is to provide independent, evidence‑based insights and real‑world tested solutions that enable homes to move beyond passive energy consumption and become active, flexible energy assets. By combining physical test environments with large‑scale digital energy data, the Laboratory bridges the gap between applied research, policy development, and industry deployment, supporting national net zero and energy security objectives.

What We Offer

We deliver cutting-edge digital energy solutions by combining advanced data analytics with real-world testing and validation.

By leveraging high-resolution data from domestic smart metering infrastructure and connected IoT (Internet of Thing) systems, we design, develop, and rigorously test innovative energy technologies and services.

Smart Meters Lab, Energy House Laboratories, University of Salford
Our capabilities include:
  • Data-driven innovation: Collecting, integrating, and analysing smart meter and IoT data to power digital energy applications and R&D projects.
  • Algorithm and product development: Creating and validating methodologies and algorithms that underpin next-generation energy products and services.
  • System integration and testing: Designing and testing smart home energy systems in realistic environments to ensure performance and reliability.
We specialise in solutions across key areas:
  • Energy flexibility and demand-side response
  • Building thermal performance estimation
  • Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) and associated digital services
  • Energy management and optimisation
  • Intelligent control of Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs), including heat pumps and storage systems

The Salford Smart Home

The Salford Smart Home (SSH) is the research facility of the SMSH Laboratory. Formerly known as the Zed House, it is a full-scale, electricity-only dwelling developed in partnership with Barratt Redrow and over 40 industry collaborators from the built environment sector. The SSH is the first UK new-build home designed to exceed the Future Homes Standard and provides a highly instrumented residential environment for the testing and monitoring of domestic energy technologies.

The SMSH Laboratory uses the SSH to investigate the performance of domestic energy systems under real operating conditions. The facility supports industrial R&D projects focused on digital energy systems and services, whole-home energy behaviour, and developing and evaluating new low-carbon solutions. Through detailed monitoring and data collection, the SSH enables researchers and industry partners to understand how energy technologies perform in practice and interact with one another in a real home.

Key LCTs and energy systems

The dwelling incorporates a range of low-carbon technologies and smart energy systems, including:

  • Air Source Heat Pump (space heating and hot water)
  • Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation
  • Battery energy storage system
  • Smart metering for whole-home energy use
  • Distributed sensor network across the building
  • Underfloor heating system
  • Skirting board heating system
  • Infrared heating panels
Data Collection

Using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), we collect data from IoT sensors throughout the SSH facility. We monitor the environmental conditions within the SSH using Monnit sensors, alongside the energy flows of the house through the GivEnergy inverter, PV, and battery system.

Smart Meters>Smart Homes Lab, Energy House Laboratories, University of Salford

Specifically, historic and real-time data can be accessed from various systems, including:

Monnit sensors

  • Temperature and Humidity
  • Passive Infrared (PIR) motion
  • Open/Closed Windows and Doors
  • Imported energy
  • CT clamp

GivEnergy inverter system – energy flows

  • PV to Home
  • PV to Battery
  • PV to Grid
  • Grid to Home
  • Grid to Battery
  • Battery to Home
  • Battery to Grid

Smart metering

  • Imported energy & cost
  • Exported energy & cost
Live Data

Real-time data from the SSH facility can be viewed through our dashboard:

SSH Dashboard

The dashboard displays a range of environmental metrics for each room within the building, as well as external conditions.

In addition to this, electrical measurement data is collected using a current transformer (CT) clamp attached to the main incoming supply. This enables monitoring of minimum, maximum, and average current at 10-minute intervals, along with cumulative energy usage expressed in ampere-hours (Ah).

A second graph presents live data from the GivEnergy inverter, illustrating energy flows between the grid, home, batteries, and photovoltaic (PV) system. Energy transfer is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and aggregated at 30-minute intervals.

Related research publications can be found on the Energy House Labs Research Repository

For information on the location of this lab please visit our visitor information page.