eHome2 is a collaboration between Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland and Barratt Developments. It is a three-bed detached house built inside of the University of Salford’s big climatic chamber called Energy House 2.0. The research project aims to test building solutions for future housing and accelerate those involved towards producing low-carbon and net-zero housing. Loxone is one of these solutions being tested and plays a key role as the home automation system, automating all of our own devices as well as third-party ones. Plus, the Loxone system is being used by the university’s research team to conduct the actual study.
What is Energy House 2.0?
Energy House 2.0, developed by the University of Salford, is a remarkable research facility designed to test and evaluate the performance of energy-efficient building materials, technologies, and systems. The two climatic chambers can fit two houses in each, which allows researchers to explore the potential of sustainable solutions in a realistic environment. With the ability to simulate temperatures ranging from -20°C to 40°C, create solar radiation, and even generate rain and snow. Energy House 2.0 is serving as an invaluable platform for advancing progress in the construction industry through high-level stringent testing. The results of the study conducted in this facility will be essential for stakeholders, including policymakers, as they shape future building regulations and standards for the UK housing industry.
What is eHome2?
eHome2 is one of the houses located within Energy House 2.0. It is a collaborative project between Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland and Barratt Developments. The primary aim of eHome2 is to accelerate progress towards low-carbon and net-zero housing, providing valuable insights to guide the industry in meeting the 2025 Future Homes and Building Standards. Over a period of nine months, the house undergoes comprehensive testing by the university to assess how its technology responds to the simulated climatic conditions we are likely to experience in the near future. By investigating and optimising energy-efficient practices and technologies, eHome2 aims to pave the way for the future of sustainable living and inform the development of energy-efficient homes without compromising on the comfort of the occupants.
Loxone in eHome2:
Loxone plays a pivotal role in the eHome2 project, serving as the central hub for the home’s technology with a focus on energy management. The central hub of the Loxone system in eHome2 is, as in any Loxone system, the Miniserver. Located in the cabinet, the Miniserver acts as the brain of the system having a massive influence throughout the whole house not only seamlessly integrating Loxone’s own smart home components and solutions for smart lighting, zoned heating, automated blinds and curtains, video intercom and access control, smart burglar alarm, and much more. Also, due to the system’s openness, many third-party systems that are part of the research collaboration can be integrated in as well. Through this integration, Loxone enables complete home automation, ensuring effective communication between all of the integrated components so that they work together. Ultimately, Loxone plays a pivotal role in the home’s advanced technology being harmonious. Plus, Loxone provides the researchers with data straight to their email and into a dashboard using the API about the climatic conditions inside and outside eHome2 and what devices are active. Separate from the research team extracting data via the Loxone API, other stakeholders can use the Loxone App to view data based on their permissions from anywhere in the world.
Read more on our blog about Loxones involvement, the future that goes beyond the collaboration, Loxone helping out the research team and Zmart Hohm’s journey with the project, plus more quotes.
Project Partners:
“The eHome2 project represents a leap forward in sustainable housing. It has provided a platform for smart technologies and enabled us to learn how to optimise and connect the utilities.
With Loxone’s smart control system, designed & installed by Zmart Hohm, we’re not just building homes, we’re designing future-ready living spaces that prioritise comfort, efficiency and environmental responsibility. Given the abundance of technology in the home, we needed a solution that seamlessly merged the various components of smart technology as well as the complicated heating, hot water and ventilation systems into a user-friendly and intuitive system.
Loxone’s system is making it easier for the occupant and connects the home functionality for future-proofing the home. The future of home automation is here, and it’s incredibly exciting.”
– Tom Cox
Technical & Developments Director, Saint-Gobain Off-site Solutions UK&I
“As the UK’s leading national sustainable housebuilder, we’re passionate about making homes even more efficient to help protect the planet, use fewer resources, and create sustainable communities. The ground-breaking partnerships we’ve built to create eHome2 within Energy House 2.0 – including with Loxone – are key to our roadmap to net zero.
Building eHome2 within the world’s largest climate-controlled chamber provided an opportunity to test the most innovative products in an environment that speeds up research by replicating 95% of the world’s future climates.
As extreme temperatures become more common, the revolutionary Loxone system can passively heat rooms using solar gain by lifting the blinds before bringing on the heat source. Or in a heatwave, it can also cool rooms automatically by detecting the temperature in the home and using shading and ventilation to make the home comfortable for our customers.
With the average consumer fitting a lot of technology into the modern home, there is a potential for conflict between technologies, with multiple apps or interfaces on the wall. The Loxone control system automates the eHome2 to maximise the efficiency of all technologies installed, without any input required from the homeowner – this is the brain of the home.
The smart system controls everything from heating to TVs, lighting, audio and window blinds. Loxone can use excess PV generation to heat hot water or charge an electric vehicle for free. It can even detect when lights or the heating have been left on, when you are out of your home.
Together with Loxone, we’re working hard to see how we can save our customers money on their energy bills and enable them to live more comfortably”
– Oliver Novakovic
Technical & Innovation Director, Barratt Developments