The University of Salford Energy House

The Salford Energy House is a world first.

A typical Salford 1919 terraced house that has been reconstructed in a fully environmentally controllable chamber, in which climatic conditions can be maintained, varied, repeated and patterns monitored.

Unlike test houses built outdoors, conditions in the Energy House can be replicated time and time again whatever the weather is like outdoors. There’s also no need for users to wait until the weather conditions meet their requirements as rain, snow, wind and temperature can be specified to high levels of accuracy at the flick of a switch.

The building currently installed represents 21% of UK housing stock and was rebuilt using the traditional methods of the time, including lime mortar, and lathe and plaster ceilings. The house is classed as a hard to treat property in terms of energy efficiency due to the lack of cavity walls.

Salford Energy House provides a unique testing and development facility in which leading researchers can work collaboratively with industry to develop and test new technology and solutions to improve the energy efficiency of existing projects and processes.