Building & Design

UK university builds ‘Coronation Street’ house to test efficiency

The University of Salford in the north of England is to build a traditional-style terraced house inside a test chamber to study its energy efficiency.

The Coronation Street style ‘Energy House’, which the University claims will be the first of its kind when it is completed next February, will be fully furnished and fitted out with functioning water, gas and electricity supplies.

The University plans to conduct some of the most advanced energy experiments ever carried out on a domestic property using the Energy House, which is similar in style to 4.5 million pre-1920s homes in the UK.

The test chamber can simulate a range of rain, wind and solar conditions so that the researchers will be able to gauge how the house’s energy consumption varies.

The study will also test new types of insulation, double glazing and low-energy appliances, as well as looking at how human behaviour can affect consumption and be influenced by new technologies like smart meters.

The researchers will even see if electronic appliances like the Wii games console could be powered by physical energy generated by the user.

The Energy House project aims to find the best ways of improving the UK’s ageing housing stock, 91% of which could benefit substantially from energy efficiency improvements.

The country’s pre-1920s stock is particularly inefficient, and while it makes up 15% of the total number of homes, it accounts for 23% of CO₂ emissions, according to government figures.

“We need to find ways to make these old-build properties more efficient as they will continue to house people for generations to come,” says Professor Steve Donnelly.

“But to cost-effectively retrofit old properties and make them as carbon-efficient as possible requires detailed and robust research,” he says.

For further information:
www.energy.salford.ac.uk/

28 May 2010

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