A solar-powered prototype house built in Wales produces 30 per cent more electricity than it consumes over the course of a year, scientists have revealed.
Over 12 months the house pulls 1,112 kWh of energy from the grid but generates a total of 1,458 kWh itself, creating a 31 per cent surplus which is all made by renewable means.
This 346 kWh annual difference is equivalent to saving 179 kg (395lbs) of carbon emissions, researchers say.
The £120,000 SOLCER House is a detached three-bedroom property built by the University of Cardiff.
A solar-powered prototype house built in Wales produces 30 per cent more electricity than it consumes over the course of a year, scientists have said (pictured)
Data published in the journal Energies reveals the annual trends in energy consumption and production of the house, which was built in 2015 as a demonstration of how homes may look in the future.
The 100 square metre (1,070 square feet) house costs £1,200 per square metre, with the total cost of building the property coming out at £120,000.
At the time of the building’s construction five years ago, this was comparable to conventional similar-sized houses on the market, the researchers said.
The prototype is a standalone detached abode but its creators envision it being semi-detached or part of a row of terrace houses if a large-scale rollout of the houses, which are ‘intended for the social housing market’, goes ahead.
The house is located at the Cenin ‘energy cluster’ industry park in South Wales and is used as a test facility as well as being occupied as a full-time office and meeting space.
It is open for regular office hours Monday to Friday, therefore not producing a direct replica of a full-time home, but data from the real-world is combined with computer models to calculate the house’s efficiency.
‘Our research has illustrated how a combination of energy modelling and detailed monitoring can lead to a better understanding of how a building performs,’ said Dr Jo Patterson from Cardiff University.
‘This is very important as we combine individual low energy components into whole systems.’
‘We aimed to keep the construction costs affordable, to provide the housing market with something to replicate, particularly social housing, where low energy costs can be a huge benefit for residents.’