The University of Salford is preparing to build a traditional-style terrace house inside a three-storey sealed test chamber in order to carry out a huge range of tests to measure energy consumption.

The university released information about the ‘Energy House’ last week which is described as a ‘Coronation Street-style house’ using the original brickwork and roof as a pre-1920 terrace house. The test chamber the house will be constructed in will have a unique climate system which is capable of generating ranging rain, wind and solar conditions.

The university plans to devise different ways to improve the home’s efficiency by studying the different ways it consumes energy. The tests go beyond trialling different types of double glazing and insulation and high-efficiency appliances like boilers – a team of psychologists, health experts, sociologists, designers, engineers and scientists will be looking into devising more untraditional sustainable solutions. This includes exploring if the use of certain colours and wall coverings affects how we perceive temperature, whether smart meters showing the exact amount of energy you’re using at a given time changes consumer habits and if, in the future, a games console like the Nintendo Wii could be powered by physical energy generated by the user.

The house, due for completion next spring, is a response to the sustainability challenge presented by the UK’s ageing housing stock with pre-1920 properties being the least efficient in the country. Despite them only making up 15 per cent of UK homes, they actually account for 23 per cent of total notional CO2 emissions.

Professor Steve Donnelly, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering & Environment, said: “We need to find ways to make these old-build properties more efficient as they will continue to house people for generations to come. But to cost-effectively retrofit old properties and make them as carbon-efficient as possible requires detailed and robust research.

“To work out how homes perform under different conditions, and the most effective ways of reducing energy consumption, requires replicating one in laboratory conditions. The unique cross-discipline nature of The Energy Hub also means that our academics, experts and specialists from a range of fields can access and interpret the data, and work together to find innovative solutions.”

If you blinked you would have missed it. Because within 36 hours of the Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme going live on 24 May all 4,600 vouchers had been allocated, the scheme closed and thousands of residents left scratching their heads and rueing a missed opportunity. But was 4,600 vouchers really enough to cater for the whole of Scotland?

Many have argued not. The boiler scrappage scheme in England lasted three months in comparison to the 36 hours for the Scottish version – however there was a 120,000 discrepancy in vouchers available between the two.

England’s boiler scrappage scheme was backed by £50m of funding and 125,000 vouchers worth £400 off the price of a new energy-efficient SEDBUK band A-rated boiler were made available. In contrast, Scotland’s scheme received just £2m in backing from the Scottish Government with a total of 4,600 vouchers up for grabs. So it came as no surprise that the Scottish scheme ran for less than two days compared to England’s scrappage scheme which operated from 5 January to 26 March. And with so many Scottish homeowners missing out, numerous MSPs have called for an extension of the scheme.

Labour’s environment spokeswoman Sarah Boyack pressured First Minister Alex Salmond last week saying: “Given the massive response from Scottish householders in such a small space of time, surely this is precisely the sort of scheme the Scottish Government should be supporting.

“Will they now not commit to extend this scheme for the thousands of our constituents who couldn’t make that time horizon?”

And Orkney Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur joined the assault suggesting homeowners in remote and more rural areas were put at a distinct disadvantage due to the time it took to get quotations for the boiler and fitting before being eligible to apply for a voucher.

But Salmond cited a lack of funds due to the UK Government’s spending cuts as refusal to an extension, adding: “We continue to provide targeted support for the financial year through the £25m, area-based home insulation scheme and the fuel poverty-focussed energy assistance package”.

Energy Minister Jim Mather, who claimed the scheme would cut average fuel bills by £235, said: “I’m pleased thousands of people have taken advantage of our £2m support to replace their inefficient boilers”.

The new Lib-Con Coalition Government may have scrapped the requirement for homeowners to provide a Home Information Pack (HIP) when selling their property recently, but it has shown commitment to a greener housing market by retaining and looking to develop Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) which need to be commissioned before putting a house on the market.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Housing Minister Grant Shapps announced on 24 May that HIPs were being suspended with immediate effect, rendering the packs as ‘pointless’, ‘expensive’ and ‘unnecessary’.

The packs, launched in December 2007, meant homeowners looking to sell had to pay an average of £500 for a HIP with around 2.7 million property owners forking out for the packs during their duration. They included information about the property, such as local authority searches and the EPC, but were rarely utilised by potential buyers and blamed for restricting an already difficult market. But despite HIPs being axed by the new government, EPCs have remained as a necessity under EU law.

On announcing the suspension of the HIPs scheme, Pickles said: “The expensive and unnecessary Home Information Pack has increased the cost and hassle of selling homes and is stifling a fragile housing market. That’s why I’m taking emergency action to suspend the HIP, bringing down the cost of selling a home and removing unnecessary regulation from the home buying process.

“This swift and decisive action will send a strong message to the fragile housing market and prevent uncertainty for both home sellers and buyers.

“HIPs are history. This action will encourage sellers back into the market, and help the market as a whole and the economy recover.”

Shapps added: “This is a great example of how this new Government is getting straight down to work by cutting away pointless red-tape that is strangling the market. Rather than shelling out hundreds of pounds for nothing in return we’re stripping away bureaucracy and letting home owners sell their property.

“But we’re also showing our commitment to a greener housing market by keeping Energy Performance Certificates and making them more relevant in helping buyers make informed decisions on the energy costs of their new home.”

An Energy Performance Certificate is required for all homes when built, sold or rented. The certificate details how energy efficient a property is and provides A-G ratings. These are similar to the labels now provided on boilers.

They are produced using standard methods and assumptions about energy usage so that the energy efficiency of one building can easily be compared with other building of the same type. This means potential buyers can now consider energy efficiency and fuel costs as part of their investment.

An EPC also comes with a Recommendation Report (RR) that lists cost effective and other measures to improve the energy rating of the property including renewable energy options and replacement of poorly-rated out-dated boiler systems.