NEW and innovative ways to make homes greener and smarter are being put to the test in a Middlesbrough home.

Working in partnership with Vision Building Services, Thirteen has transformed a 1960s bungalow in Coulby Newham into a modern living space, with all of the latest technology.

The 31 square-metre, open-plan, one-bedroom home has been completely reconfigured and refurbished, with a modern kitchen, shower room, landscaping, an easy-accessible entrance and a range of technology including: Triple glazed windows and doors to reduce the loss of heat, electric heating in the skirting boards, which is operated by one control panel.

Sunamp thermal heat battery, giving instant hot water without the need for gas, smart monitoring system that sends various sources of information back to a central platform.

Vacutherm internal insulation panels to external walls and floor, mechanical ventilation heat recovery system (MVHR), providing fresh filtered air, while retaining most of the energy which has already been used in heating the home, keeping it at a comfortable temperature.

Low energy lighting system with wireless switches, that work with a microchip, creating kinetic energy that sends a signal for the lights to come on.

Working as part of Thirteen’s technical development team and managing the project, Helen Rooney said: “We’re looking at new and innovative ways to improve our environmental impact. This is an opportunity to test out a range of new products, services and smart technologies which we could use in the future.

“While it allows us to research the products on the market, there are so many benefits and we’re creating a safe, modern, energy efficient home for one of our customers.

“We’re expecting the running costs to be very low. We’ll be able to monitor the effectiveness of the products we’ve installed through sensors, which relay the information to us and will give us data so we know how it’s performing.

“We’re looking at how technology can help us become proactive, rather than reactive. For example, we’ll know when the filters need changing on the mechanical ventilation heat recovery system. Otherwise, this is very much a maintenance free home. You even get 35,000 cycles from the Sunamp until we need to do anything."