Acoustics

Future Homes (Acoustics)

With over £3.54m of support from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, the Future Homes project aims to create a globally competitive centre for research and innovation in net zero housing in Greater Manchester, by supporting innovators in bringing novel low or zero technologies to market. Within this project, the Acoustics research team at the University of Salford is investigating sound (noise) and vibration issues associated with low carbon technologies including heat pumps. The project is being delivered by a partnership between the University of Salford, Barratt Developments, Bellway Homes, the Energy Innovation Agency, Q-bot, RED Cooperative, RSK Environment, Saint-Gobain and the University of Manchester. 

The pilot Innovation Accelerator (IA) programme is investing £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters: Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester, and West Midlands. In 2025 it was announced that the IA programme has been extended by £30m for 2025/26. The Future Homes project will now run until March 2026.

Central to the project are the unique research and testing facilities at the University of Salford. The world-class acoustic facilities are designed to meet the highest technical specifications and the requirements of measurement standards. Each space is supported by one of the largest acoustics research groups in the world and the hands-on expertise of specialist technical staff. The Future Homes project enables innovators to access academic expertise and the unique facilities at the University of Salford Acoustics and Energy House Labs to test and verify their technologies.

CASE STUDIES

Case studies undertaken during Phase 1 of the Future Homes Project (Acoustics) included a wide range of low-carbon and net-zero oriented domestic infrastructure products.

Case study 1: laboratory measurements of sound power and intensity were performed using Microflown Scan and Paint 3D for the determination of sound power and directivity of an external ventilation unit (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Photo of an external ventilation unit under test.

Case study 2: a field study in collaboration with the Heat Pump Association (HPA) was conducted to determine air source heat pump (ASHP) noise in-situ (Figure 2). This included testing using an arc of microphones for the determination of cumulative noise from ASHPs, as well as measurements of sound at neighbouring properties due to a single ASHP. This work will be followed up in Phase 2 (now underway) with measurements of multiple ASHPs at multiple neighbouring properties.

Figure 2: Photo of field site for heat pump measurements in Phase 1 of the Future Homes project.

Case study 3: during testing at Energy House 2.0, a radiator skirting board was found to make noises due to expansion. The acoustics team measured the skirting board noise and vibration before and after design amendments (Figure 3) to determine that the problem had been resolved.

Figure 3: Experimental set up for radiator skirting board measurement procedure where ‘accel’ is accelerometer and ‘mic’ is microphone.

CONTACT

For more information on Future Homes Acoustics activities and to discuss potential collaboration, please contact: