Keepmoat agrees trials with Wondrwall and Heylo

The developer will pilot Wondrwall’s automated energy system and Heylo’s part-rent, part-buy scheme at a project in Manchester.

The housebuilder is releasing five new two- and three-bedroom homes available through Heylo’s Home Reach, a part-buy, part-rent scheme at its Connell Gardens development in West Gorton. These homes will form part of a pilot scheme that means they feature the latest smart home technology designed to combine energy generation, storage and home automation in order to reduce the impact of rising energy costs on the resident.

This project by the homebuilder is intended to support Manchester City Council’s vision of being a zero carbon city by 2038, with Keepmoat Homes working with smart home specialist Wondrwall to find practical solutions that provide an affordable, scalable and deliverable solution to reducing carbon emissions in new build housing. The new homes have the potential to reduce home energy consumption by 20% and electricity bills by up to 90%, deliver outstanding thermal performance and utilise renewable and clean energy with the potential to generate income by selling surplus energy back to the National Grid.

The project will see these five new homes, with prices starting at £90,997 for 50% share, receive:

• Dual aspect photovoltaic solar panels to generate as much electricity in a year as the homes consume
• Battery storage to maximise the use of free renewable and low cost off-peak electricity
• Enhanced building fabric improvements
• Car charging points
• Smart home automation to control and reduce energy usage automatically

Craig Murphy, regional managing director of Keepmoat Homes, said: “Climate change is a key challenge facing everyone and that’s why we’re not only proud to support Manchester City Council’s ambition to be a zero carbon city but are also looking at ways we can support this on our developments.

“We felt the final phase of our Connell Gardens scheme provided the perfect opportunity to run a pilot project alongside the Council, Wondrwall and heylo to see how we could not only support local government aspirations but also help find practical solutions that tackle not just climate change but the rising energy costs of our customers.”

Daniel Burton, CEO of Wondrwall, said: “We are excited to be working with Keepmoat Homes to deliver our smart energy solution to create affordable homes that dramatically decrease the occupant’s energy consumption, costs and to help put an end to fuel poverty.”

Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “To meet the demand for new housing in the city we need to build 32,000 new homes by 2025 with at least 20% being affordable. We need to ensure the city is championing sustainable building methods and energy efficiency, that will not only help us to reach our zero-carbon target but will benefit residents’ pockets too. Pilots like this are going to be fundamental to the city’s zero carbon success.”

Wondrwall is an intelligent living system that makes your home adapt to your needs and desires – automatically controlling heating, lighting security and safety, with voice control technology to change any of the settings at any time. Wondrwall learns and works around you, observing how you actually live, which rooms you spend the most time in and how you use heating and lighting. It seamlessly and intelligently supports and enhances your living environment and reduces energy consumption and costs without your input.