Welcome to the house of the future

Ohme EV chargers weather the storms at Energy House 2.0

The built environment accounts for 40% of the UK’s carbon footprint and to achieve net zero will require a step change in the design of new buildings. As around 80% of the 2050 building stock has already been built, meeting this target will require a comprehensive upgrade and retrofit programme to the existing housing stock.

Devising houses of the future is the mission of Energy House 2.0 at the University of Salford.

The £16m facility’s chambers contain fully furnished houses created by developers Barratt Developments, Bellway Homes, and Saint-Gobain.

Energy House 2.0 can recreate a wide variety of weather conditions with temperatures ranging between

-20˚C to +40˚C and simulated wind, rain, snow and solar radiation. The weather conditions will help the project partners to work together creating a blueprint for the low carbon homes of the future.

Energy House 2.0 is expected to play a key role in accelerating the progress towards low carbon and net zero housing design and builds upon the success of the original Energy House Laboratory, which was opened in Salford back in 2012.

Fitted to the houses inside the chambers are Ohme EV smart chargers.

The project will assess the performance of systems such as EV chargers, which are being supplied by Ohme.

“We’re very excited to be part of the Energy House 2.0 project and this view into the future of our housing,” said Ohme chief executive, David Watson. “This project will help to accelerate progress towards low carbon and net zero housing design.”