46 ENERGY HOUSE 2.0 SPOTLIGHT
Heat Transfer Coeffi cient (HTC) obtained from eHome2 designed by Barratt and Saint Gobain, in the three diff erent types of test used by the Energy House 2.0 team
HTC scores from the ‘experimental’ Future Home designed by Bellway in the three diff erent tests showed a slightly larger performance gap using the coheating method
THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS – INCLUDING BETTER UNDERSTANDING OCCUPANTS
The full in-depth reports for the eHome2 and The Future Home can be read by scanning these QR codes:
eHome2 by Barratt & Saint-Gobain
TFH was designed to have a Whole House Heat Loss (Heat Transfer Coeffi cient or TC of .3 /, based on the SAP energy model. This includes both the heat loss through the building’s materials and from air leakage. When measured using the coheating method, the TC was 2.1 (1. /. This shows a difference of 5.9 W/K, or 7.7%, which is higher than the margin of error, indicating a minor performance gap. TC measurements were taken using the Saint-Gobain QUB and Veritherm test methods. Representatives from Veritherm and QUB conducted these tests independently of the research team. The tests were performed under the same conditions as the coheating method, with the chamber set to 5C, to allow for direct comparison.
The Future Home by Bellway
Both properties had a small performance gap that, potentially, would not be measurable in the fi eld due to higher levels of uncertainty, indicating an overall high level of performance against design intent. However, the study created an opportunity to undertake a detailed building pathology study. In eHome2 there were some small areas of insulation in the prototype timber frame wall panel where the insulation had become compressed during the manufacturing process, allowing some air movement within the panel. This fi nding allowed the team to design additional research and create a test cell to evaluate future iterations of the panels.
The Future Home, as outlined above, had a performance gap that was mainly driven by issues of airtightness due to factors related to the experimental nature of the property, some of which could have been contributed to by the large number of heating systems and service penetrations. In addition, the uneven application of loft insulation meant the roof of the property underperformed by 56%.
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TECHNICAL LEARNINGS
As important as the technical learnings are on this project, one of the key takeaways that the team has learnt is how the sector can work with the research sector and each other, and in a more open way. The partners shared research resources and data and have committed to making the data available for the wider sector, including issues and diffi culties, which we have highlighted above. Net zero and energy effi ciency are problems, and this approach means that the investments made by all parties are shared with industry in order to help drive change.
The work will continue into 2025 with the next stage of testing, due for release shortly, focusing on the performance of the heating systems under controlled conditions. This will focus on the comparison of heating systems in terms of energy usage, running costs, carbon and thermal comfort. This will cover a number of different confi gurations of air source heat pumps, emitter types, as well as infrared heating. These reports are expected to be available in late summer 2024.
Energy House 2.0 is still a relatively new facility, having only been launched 18 months ago. We can see the value in being able to understand buildings in this level of detail. There are opportunities to understand a wide range of topics including better understanding occupants, as the facility is designed to safely allow people to live in these homes.
The opportunities for this and other built environment research are being explored as we work with new partners, covering new areas such as digital energy, electric vehicles, new materials and circular economy.
Will Swan is director of Energy House Laboratories at the University of Salford
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