The houses, which will be completed in May 2021, will be powered entirely by hydrogen, allowing the public to witness first-hand and interact with domestic appliances created to order by the world’s leading companies
It will also contain Worcester Bosch boilers that use hydrogen power safety valves created by SIT
Padua, May 3, 2021 – Prototype hydrogen meters produced by MeteRSit, a company specialising in smart metering and part of the SIT S.p.A. group, will be installed in the first houses powered entirely by hydrogen.
The houses, located at the Northern Gas Networks’ (NGN) site at Low Thornley, close to Gateshead in northern England, will demonstrate the use of appliances and heating and cooking systems powered entirely by hydrogen. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of May, 2021.
The project is the results of a partnership between the UK’s gas distribution networks NGN and Cadent along with the Government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The project was funded by £250,000 funding from each partner. The objective of the programme is to develop a safe, efficient and technologically advanced use for hydrogen in private homes and commercial buildings.
For the hydrogen houses, MeteRSit, a SIT Group company that develops and manufactures intelligent gas meters and which is working on an experimental hydrogen gas meter as part of the British government’s Hy4Heat programme, was chosen from among producers of meters that will enable the safe distribution of hydrogen. This was thanks to the DomusNext® H2 meter that allows consumption data reading.
“Our expertise, market knowledge and ability to read consumption data with extreme accuracy are among the factors that saw us chosen for a project that is significant not just for SIT, but for the entire energy sector,” said Federico de’ Stefani, SIT S.p.A. CEO. “These houses represent an important milestone in the construction of an energy future based on efficiency, safe and mindful usage of alternative gases and consumption data reading, thanks to IoT and self-regulating technologies. These elements are useful only if change starts with the consumer: the power to make our homes and spaces more sustainable and environmentally friendly is in our hands”.
Mark Horsley, Chief Executive Officer of Northern Gas Networks, said: ‘Gas networks are reliable and extremely resilient and responsive to demands. With 85% of the UK connected to the gas network it is logical to re-purpose this vast asset to carry a clean-burning gas like hydrogen.”
Stella Matthews, Business Development Manager at Northern Gas Networks said “We’re excited to work with MeteRSit as part of our Hydrogen Home project which will bring the reality of a hydrogen-fuelled home of the future to the public for the first time. Through the homes and the hydrogen appliances including meters, we hope to reassure the public that they can still enjoy a safe and reliable gas supply in the future with minimal disruption whilst at the same time”.
The role of hydrogen in the energy transition – Unlike natural gas, which accounts for over 30% of carbon emissions, using hydrogen produces no carbon emissions. For the first time, hydrogen homes will present to the public (to the extent permitted by applicable COVID-19 restrictions) the future of hydrogen energy, allowing visitors to interact with hydrogen-based systems and utilities such as meters, boilers, ovens and cooking surfaces, fireplaces and barbecues.
The objective of the project is to show that homes can be heated and managed using clean energy, and that hydrogen has a crucial role to play in accomplishing the ambitious goals established by the British government: to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. To the extent permitted by COVID-19 regulations and subject to ongoing infection levels, guided tours of the house will be available for members of the press, schools, colleges and universities in order to educate the next generation on energy efficiency and mindful consumption.
Also installed in the houses are Worcester Bosch hydrogen boilers that use hydrogen power safety valves developed by SIT.
