Symphony Group has partnered with housebuilder Barratt Developments on a flagship zero carbon home development that it says is unique in the industry.

The Z House is reported to be the first new home in the country built by a major housebuilder to go beyond the new Future Homes Standard[1] by delivering a carbon reduction of 125%[2]. It will be occupied and monitored over time to assess its performance.

The Z House has been developed to showcase what could be achievable for the mainstream, volume housebuilder and is a realistic example of how the future of housebuilding may look in 10-20 years.

Barratt challenged its supply chain partners to bring-in the most cutting-edge products into the house to reduce its embodied carbon.

The kitchen specified for this project is the Urban range in Grey Walnut, the door and drawer fronts on this range are made using 100% recycled chipboard whilst the handles contain renewable coconut fibre. In addition, the kitchen cabinets are made from 49% recycled board and the cutlery trays and drawer storage are all Hemp and Kenaf based.

The Z House is constructed using closed panel timber framed with highly insulated cladding and includes essential sustainable technology such as EV charging points, PV solar panels and battery storage. Inside, the house features electronic taps that can reduce water usage by 80%, a smart electricity tariff which automatically shifts energy usage to access the cheapest rates and a carbon neutral work surface from the Sunlit days collection from Silestone® by Cosentino – the first carbon neutral quartz surface range in the engineered stone industry. 

The Z House is located on the main campus at the University of Salford and will contain a dedicated knowledge hub built into the garage to display products, technologies and results of the house so far. 

Robert Newton, Marketing Manager at Symphony Group, said: “The Z House is a first within the Housebuilder industry and with a history of firsts, here at Symphony we are delighted to have partnered with Barratt Developments to make this concept into a reality. We will always champion sustainable practice within the industry and are looking forward to reviewing the performance of the new house in the coming months.”