“W” FOR WATER REUSE IN BARRATT Z-HOUSE

SDS has installed a smart water tank at the Z-House, located at the University of Salford. We are one of 40 partners chosen to feature forward-looking sustainable technologies in the house, which is occupied and monitored to assess its performance.
In this visionary project, Barratt, the UK’s largest housebuilder, is keen to show what can be achieved for every home, even on a mainstream, volume development. It’s clear that, in future, home buyers will simply expect to buy greener homes. Sustainable homes will also be more affordable and efficient to run.
So, we were particularly delighted that Barratt approached us to trial our digitally controlled and monitored water-saving technology. Rather than choosing a simple garden water butt, the Barratt team were keen to incorporate smart controls to a tank outside the property that collects water from the roof.
The SDS Intellistorm® system turns the humble water butt into an intelligent storage device that can manage discharge to the drainage system, as well as saving water for reuse. At the Z-House, rainwater running off the roof is collected by the SDS system and used to irrigate a green wall. Excess rainwater is also stored in a reservoir, which can be used, for example, to water the garden or wash the car.
It’s admirable that a major housebuilder is taking the lead to deliver a level of carbon reduction that is considerably more than the Future Homes Standard. Barratt has announced that all its new homes will be zero carbon by 2030.