Focus on Net Zero

A DATA-CENTRIC APPROACH

Accurate, live and historical sensor monitoring and reporting

The construction of the research houses has now been completed and they have been furnished and kitted out with sensors and various technology solutions to allow factors including temperature, motion, moisture and gas and electricity use to be monitored. This has enabled accurate live and historical sensor monitoring and reporting and storage of approximately 1800 data points. The data streams and archives are made discoverable and accessible by partners to generate insight, we retain control on data, who, when and why it is shared with to ensure Intellectual Property Rights protection.

Facts about the research
properties at NeRV:

  • All are archetypes built using the materials and technologies of their day and together
  • Representative of c.20m of the UK’s housing stock.
  • The homes have been built and furnished to enable energy saving and net zero technologies to be tested in different house types.
  • This real-world setting is invaluable, as the performance of technologies in actual homes can be different to that predicted in the lab.
  • This test bed allows the optimal heating systems, controls, fabric upgrades and energy efficiency solutions to be identified for each
    housing type, and enable businesses to test and refine their technologies before putting them on the market.
  • We worked with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to prepare an energy baseline for the homes, which involved air permeability testing, U-Value testing and desk-based SAP analysis.
Interior of NERV home - living room
Northern Gas team visiting NERV village