Plumbing students from City Skills at Salford City College were given a tour of Bellway’s Future Home to learn about the new technologies that will shape their careers.
The Future Home at The University of Salford is Bellway’s experimental eco home, which will test carbon-zero technologies.
It forms part of the Energy House 2.0 research project run by the university and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Bellway is building a three-bedroom home inside a chamber at the university. It will test innovations in building materials, recovering heat from wastewater, storing solar energy, double versus triple glazing, and the use of different heating systems including air source heat pumps.
The new technologies will be operated in varying climate conditions, with temperatures ranging from -20C to +40C. University of Salford researchers will analyse how each element performs when testing starts next year.
City Skills is a Centre of Excellence for Construction that teaches students from 16 years of age, equipping them to be successful in their chosen field.
Chris Griffiths, Work Experience and Employability Coordinator at City Skills, said: “We were very pleased to be offered the opportunity to visit Bellway’s Future Home facility. To see new technology is always a positive experience and ensures our learners are engaged with cutting-edge ways of working.
“This project is especially exciting. We haven’t seen anything similar to this before and it has definitely enhanced out learners’ experience at college. This visit has opened their eyes to the direction their trade is moving in and the different ways they can expect to work once they are in the industry.”
The Future Home at the University of Salford is being built by a team from Bellway’s Manchester division.
Bellway’s Site Manager for the project, Sam Ward, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the City Skills students to view our eco house. They will be using many of the innovations incorporated in our Future Home during the course of their careers so it is important that they are aware of them from the outset.
“We showed them two air source heat pumps – one on the roof and one attached to the side wall of the house. They also learned about new ways to recover heat from waste water.
“This project has been designed to tell us more about how we can adapt our homes and our habits to create a net-zero way of life. Engaging with communities – and especially with those who will be helping to build the homes of the future – is a crucial part of our role in it.”
Bellway recently announced it had partnered with Worcester Bosch to trial the UK’s first roof-mounted air source heat pump for the Energy House 2.0 initiative.
In addition to its role as a research partner in the project, Bellway has signed up to the Friends of Energy House 2.0. This includes a commitment to community outreach to raise awareness of the project aims and outcomes.
For more information on The Future Home see http://www.bellway.co.uk/the-future-home.
To find out more about Energy House 2.0 see http://www.energyhouse2.com/.
