The Home of the Future

There are a couple of ways to generate heat while keeping emissions to a minimum. The first method is a ground source heat pump, which works like a reverse refrigerator. Two bore holes are drilled into the back garden, pipes are laid and refrigerant is pumped through them. Because the ambient temperature below ground is higher, the refrigerant will take on that heat. It is then pumped through a series of heat exchangers, which raise the temperature significantly enough to heat a tank of water. Because the only power needed for this system is to drive the pump and compressor, the heat captured far outweighs the energy required to create it.

The other heating option is a biomass boiler that runs on wood pellets. The pellets are fed into a hopper, but they are not instantly burned. The boiler will only take on more pellets to burn when there is a need for more heat, if say, someone starts to run a bath, or turns on the under-floor heating. There will be carbon emissions released as the wood is burned, but this is offset by the CO2 that was absorbed during the tree’s life.

Low-wattage lighting is used throughout the house. Not only does this reduce power usage, but low-power bulbs and LEDs have a far longer lifetime than traditional bulbs and halogen spots. Even the air is used to good effect, with hot air being pumped from the kitchen and bathroom through a heat exchanger and out of the building. The stored heat is then used to warm up fresh air from outside, to ensure that the air in the house is always fresh, without reducing the ambient temperature. Basically, nothing goes to waste.

THE BIG PICTURE

Not too many years ago the home of the future was a vision of automation and entertainment, where all your needs were taken care of without you lifting a finger. That picture has changed somewhat, and today’s ideal home of the future has a far wider brief. The good news is that we don’t need to look too far into the future to live in the type of home that only existed in science fiction a decade ago.

Whether you’re concerned with reducing your carbon footprint or controlling all your in-house entertainment from the sofa, the technology is all there right now. You’ll have to keep your expectations and desires in check, as many of these technologies don’t come cheap. However, it’s clear that as new homes are built, we’ll see much of it installed as standard. In fact, government legislation states that, by 2016, all new-build houses need to adhere to Level 6 Code with zero carbon emissions.

The other pieces of the puzzle will fall into place if consumer demand is high enough. If new home buyers cite features like integrated IP cameras or home-automation systems as important, then more builders will look to install this kind of technology into new homes. As always, early adopters will pay a premium, but eventually, what’s considered a luxury or frivolous today might just become commonplace in all homes.

On the following page we look at Panasonic’s ‘Concept Home’ – the Eco Ideas House in Tokyo