Research on Bellway's Future Home at The University of Salford has found that Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) are capable of heating new homes into the future for less than £2 a day.
Image Credit: The University of Salford
The finding is one of the key results in a newly published study by The University of Salford which is the largest research project ever carried out on electrical heating systems under controlled conditions.
Funded under the UKRI’s Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator Programme, researchers at the university’s unique Energy House 2.0 climate chamber have spent the past 12 months testing different heating systems in two houses built within the chamber to see which ones will heat consumers’ homes the best at the lowest cost.
Bellway’s house, known as The Future Home, tested two ASHPs, including the UK’s first roof-mounted prototype, along with underfloor, infrared and ambient heating, and mechanical heat recovery ventilation.
The research looked at two different heating patterns – 24-hour constant heating and a pattern of a house being heated between the hours of 7 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 11 pm, which is currently used in the standard energy model (SAP), and is the typical way that people live in their homes in the UK. Tests were conducted at both a typical winter temperature of 5 °C and also an extreme winter temperature of -5 °C within the climate chamber.
The key findings from the research are:
- Air Source Heat Pumps can cost as little as £1.84 on a typical winter day to heat a home and are more efficient than current gas boilers.
- During the extreme winter condition test the electrified heating systems did not perform well when used in the typical way that consumers with gas boilers would use heating. Consumers will need to adjust to using the electrified heating systems in a more constant way in order to get the best heat at the most efficient cost. The findings will help new buyers, existing homeowners, renters and landlords to understand the most efficient ways to heat homes when gas boilers begin to be phased out in new homes from 2025. Existing homes have until 2035 to replace gas boilers.
The heating tests at Energy House 2.0 have accelerated our understanding of how new homes can be heated through electric sources.
Jamie Bursnell, Head of Technical and Innovation for Bellway, said: “The heating tests at Energy House 2.0 have accelerated our understanding of how new homes can be heated through electric sources. The comparison of different combinations of heating technologies working in a controlled environment has highlighted some highly efficient systems. We will now refine and test further, and the research will inform our work with new technologies on the live developments where these are already being trialled.”
Energy House 2.0 is a specially built climate chamber that recreates temperatures ranging from -20 ˚C to +40 ˚C, as well as simulating wind, rain, snow and solar radiation, enabling the testing of methods of construction and products at temperatures that would represent anything from a Nordic winter to an African summer. The Energy House 2.0 chamber can simulate the weather conditions in 95 percent of the world’s current climates, as well as the climates predicted in the future.
Without the unique facilities we have here at Salford, it would take years to deliver these results that we have achieved in just a few months of testing on each home.
Richard Fitton, Professor of Building Performance at The University of Salford, said: “Without the unique facilities we have here at Salford, it would take years to deliver these results that we have achieved in just a few months of testing on each home.
“Energy House 2.0 allows for a comparison between heating technologies at constant extreme temperatures, which up to this moment has not been possible and our results represent unique research. These insights will be invaluable as we try to reduce the carbon emitted in heating our homes, whilst ensuring people are warm and comfortable in their homes without paying too much on their bills.”
Bellway’s home demonstrated that underfloor heating and ASHPs work well together, while Infrared heating could be used more widely in flats and maisonettes, where ASHPs are difficult to install.
The research project complements Bellway’s pilot projects around the country, with 11 exemplar homes already completed. Bellway installed 163 ASHPs in homes during 2024 and has plans for a further 1,400.
The testing carried out at The Future Home @ Energy House 2.0 is a key pillar of Bellway’s carbon reduction plans, which form part of the company’s overarching Better with Bellway sustainability strategy.