Opening E.ON's house of the future, built with its foundations in the past 

The last brick has been laid and energy firm E.ON is beginning research at its 2016 House, the replica 1930s home on campus at The University of Nottingham which aims to learn energy efficiency lessons for the future from the failings of homes of the past.

Three years of research will investigate how the typical suburban home could be upgraded to help reduce CO 2 emissions so that similar homes could become carbon neutral status, which is the Government’s aim for all new homes after 2016.

Using the latest technology to monitor energy consumption, the project team will assess the benefits of low carbon technologies which can be fitted to existing homes, as well as working out how to make best use of materials, renewable energy technology and energy management systems.

Dave Clarke, Head of Research and Development at E.ON, said: “Building our 1930s house is the first stage in this process.

“Many old homes lose energy through poor design and insulation but we can use this test facility to see exactly what improvements can be made now and in the future.

“Millions of us live in homes like this. Our homes  are responsible for almost  a third of the CO 2 emitted in the UK, so any benefits we identify here could go on to lower the bills and the carbon footprint of millions of families.”

In its first year, the E.ON 2016 House will be used as a typical 1930s semi, providing ‘starting point’ data relevant to many properties of the era. These homes were designed with open fires, single glazed windows, inefficient gas and electric water heating and very little insulation.

“Most of the UK housing stock of 25 million properties will still be occupied in 2050,” said Dave.

“This project will identify some of the low carbon measures we can retrofit to these homes to significantly reduce our carbon emissions.”

The house is bristling with more than 100 sensors to monitor energy use, temperature and humidity, making it one of the most sophisticated research houses in the world. The occupants themselves will wear the latest tracking devices to pinpoint the energy cost and CO 2 emissions of their activity as well as helping understand how the living space is used and how it changes as the property is upgraded.

At present, 60 percent of the total CO 2 emissions from UK homes arise from heating and cooking using natural gas, with electricity for lighting and appliances causing the remainder.

E.ON's 2016 house is part of the University’s Creative Energy Homes initiative, which will see a total of six sustainable homes built on the campus in the near future.

Dr Mark Gillott, Research and Development Manager for Creative Energy Homes, said: “This project is a unique test bed for us to trial and evaluate both simple energy-saving steps and innovative approaches and technologies.

“It will expand our teaching and research facilities, in the university’s School of the Built Environment, to address climate change issues and give our students the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technologies and techniques for improving existing buildings.”