Cleantech company Vector Homes has unveiled its prototype flatpack home built using sustainable and advanced materials after undergoing testing at a g research facility in Manchester.
Vector is working with Energy House 2.0, part of the University of Salford, to develop its new rapid-build housing system.
The prototype is a low-carbon, one-bedroom bungalow measuring 40m2 which has been constructed using recycled materials, including steel and plastics, as well as advanced materials such as graphene.
Vector is designing affordable, energy efficient homes with features including low-embodied carbon materials, infra-red heating, solar cells, breathable mould-resistant plaster and render, as well as embedded technology to provide smart environmental controls that efficiently measure and control the temperature, humidity and air quality in each room.
By incorporating graphene into the structures, the panels used in the construction of a Vector home have improved tensile strength, a greatly-reduced flame spread and increased UV resistance. Vector has worked with the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre to develop ways of incorporating the material into its housing systems.
Launched earlier this year, the £16m Energy House 2.0, at the University of Salford’s Peel Park Campus, is globally unique and is helping to drive innovation in the housing sector already, through work with housebuilders and manufacturer Saint-Gobain.
