We’re delighted to share that the Future Homes Project at Energy House 2.0 has been named Most Innovative Partnership at the Building Innovation Awards.
The three-year collaboration brought together Energy House Labs, Bellway, Barratt Redrow and Saint-Gobain to explore how energy-efficient, comfortable and low-carbon homes can be delivered at scale.
As part of the project, two full-size new-build homes, Bellway’s The Future Home and Barratt Redrow and Saint-Gobain’s eHome2, were constructed and tested inside our Energy House 2.0 climate chamber.
The partnership brought together housebuilders, manufacturers and academics to test new approaches to heating, cooling and energy efficiency, with findings that can be applied to new homes across the UK.
Some of the key findings include:
- Air source heat pumps can be around four times more efficient than gas boilers at typical UK winter temperatures.
- Heat pumps can also be used in cooling mode to help reduce overheating during increasingly frequent heatwaves.
- The whole-building envelope solution trialled at eHome2 has been developed into a tested and warrantied solution for scalable low-rise housing.
- Findings from the project have contributed to policy and guidance at national and regional level.
- The research is also helping other housebuilders, including SMEs, as the industry moves towards low-carbon heating.
Prof Lubo Jankovic, of Energy House Labs, said:
“It is very inspiring to work with our industry partners who contribute their products and systems to us for scientific research and take our research findings back into the real world and make a tangible impact on the performance of new houses and wellbeing of their occupants across the UK.”
We’re proud to see the work of everyone involved recognised with this award and to play a part in developing practical solutions for the future of low-carbon homes.
