Energy House 1 – The UK’s Only Fully Climate-Controllable Home
What if you could test how your home performs in a Canadian winter, a Mediterranean heatwave, or a British storm—all without leaving Manchester? At the University of Salford, this isn't science fiction. It's Energy House 1, and it's revolutionising how we build homes for our changing climate.
In the latest episode of Building Better—the inspiring video series by Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions—we venture inside one of the UK’s most innovative research projects: Energy House 1 at the University of Salford.
In this episode, Professor Will Swan, Director of Energy House Labs, shows architectural designer and TV personality Charlie Luxton how the UK’s only fully climate-controllable Victorian end-terrace home is helping revolutionise the way we design, build, and retrofit homes for a more sustainable future.
Why Energy House 1 Matters
Picture a typical Victorian terrace house. Now imagine encasing it within a massive environmental chamber that can recreate any weather condition on Earth. That's Energy House 1—where researchers can subject real homes to everything from Arctic blizzards to desert heat, all while measuring exactly how the building responds.
This isn't just impressive technology for its own sake. With climate change bringing more extreme weather and energy costs continuing to rise, we desperately need to understand how our homes will perform under pressure.
Traditional testing methods take years and involve an element of guesswork. Energy House 1 delivers precise, repeatable results in controlled conditions, accelerating innovation while reducing real-world risks.
The facility can replicate temperatures from -13°C to 30°C, simulate solar radiation, generate wind, and even produce snow. Every variable is controlled, every measurement recorded, creating a treasure trove of data that's helping reshape how we think about home design and retrofit.
A Future-Focussed Collaboration
British Gypsum and Isover were among the first collaborators to recognise Energy House 1’s potential, collaborating on the facility's inaugural full-house retrofit project. This partnership demonstrates how academic research and commercial innovation can work hand-in-hand to solve practical challenges.
“Energy House 1 offers a unique opportunity to understand the real-world performance of innovative materials in a repeatable, scientifically rigorous way,” explains Professor Will Swan. “By working with partners such as British Gypsum and Isover, we’re able to explore how future homes can deliver energy efficiency, comfort and resilience at scale.”.
The research scope spans everything from whole-house retrofits to heating systems, and seemingly small interventions such as carpets and curtains. This comprehensive approach reflects a crucial understanding: in building performance, everything matters.
The interactions between different materials, systems, and environmental conditions create complex relationships that can only be fully understood through rigorous testing.
Beyond Testing: Building Tomorrow's Standards
The insights emerging from Energy House 1 extend far beyond individual product performance. This research is helping us establish new benchmarks for what constitutes truly sustainable, resilient housing.
As our climate becomes more unpredictable, buildings need to do more than simply meet today's regulatory requirements—they need to protect and comfort occupants through whatever conditions the future brings.
This kind of forward-thinking research is particularly vital as the UK works toward its net-zero commitments. Retrofitting existing housing stock represents one of our greatest challenges and opportunities in reducing carbon emissions.
Energy House 1's controlled environment allows researchers to test retrofit strategies quickly and thoroughly, identifying what works best for different building types and climate scenarios.
A Commitment to Building a Better Future
Energy House 1 represents more than innovative testing—it embodies a new approach to building research that prioritises real-world performance over theoretical calculations.
By showcasing the transformational research taking place at the University of Salford, the episode demonstrates Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions’ commitment to helping the planet, with evidence-based solutions that genuinely help people to live more sustainable lives.
The work happening at Salford today will influence how we design, build, and retrofit homes for decades to come.
Watch the full episode below and learn more about how we’re building a better tomorrow.