How Energy House 2.0 will look when completed
The University of Salford’s Energy House 2.0 is looking to collaborate with Greater Manchester businesses that wish to test their energy-saving and low carbon technologies.
Energy House 2.0 is the largest test and research facility of its kind. In two environmental chambers, which can each hold two detached houses, researchers can recreate a variety of weather conditions including wind, rain, snow and solar radiation. The chambers can be temperature controlled with temperatures ranging between -20˚C to +40˚C.
The research facility can replicate the environmental conditions experienced by 95% of the global population and can contribute significantly to the development of energy-efficient technologies for the built environment across the globe. It’s hoped that Energy House 2.0 will allow international industry partners to collaborate and solve global challenges.
Construction of the facility was completed in February 2022 and now work is set to begin constructing properties within the chambers with research programmes scheduled to begin in September 2022.
One chamber will be home to two detached houses of modular construction, built to high standards of insulation and airtightness, heated using heat pumps. The other will house a one-bedroom apartment built to Passivhaus standard.
Each property will be equipped with a comprehensive array of sensors (temperature, humidity, heat flux, electricity, etc) and their baseline thermal properties will be assessed by the University of Salford team.
However, there is now an opportunity for additional smaller research projects within Energy House 2.0. The team have created a unique chance for Greater Manchester based businesses to research and test their energy-saving/low carbon technologies within the facility free of charge.
The team are looking for companies with innovations that have the potential to save significant carbon emissions from buildings and improve energy efficiency. The projects must be energy-saving technologies that can be quickly and easily installed into the dwellings within Energy House 2.0 without significant impact on the building fabric. This includes heating control systems, low energy lighting and EV charge points.
However, there is also some available space in one chamber which could be used to site a small portable building, mobile home or caravan. This could be the basis for a suitable test and research programme around the energy performance under a variety of climatic conditions.
Priority access to the testing facilities will be given to small and medium businesses from the Greater Manchester region.
The deadline for applications is Friday 27 May 2022. For further details on how to apply s well as terms and conditions, click here.
