Bellway has become the first national housebuilder to partner with Google to bring energy-saving technology as standard to every new home it builds.
The collaboration between Bellway and Google supports Bellway’s ‘Better with Bellway’ sustainability strategy, which has industry-leading targets for carbon reduction.
Travis Perkins branches across the UK will supply Google Nest thermostats to each of Bellway’s developments as part of a long-standing relationship between the two companies.
The installation of the smart tech will mean that Bellway homeowners will be able to save up to 16% on their energy bills, while also reducing their carbon impact.
Google’s learning thermostats have been trialled at a selection of Bellway developments ahead of the national rollout, which coincides with the introduction of Part L 2021 building regulations. The thermostat learns how and when households use their heating and hot water. It adapts to deliver maximum efficiency, turning down the temperature when the home is empty. It is compatible with smart home technology including Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
Tony Atkin, group production managing director for Bellway, said: “Bellway is committed to delivering industry-leading innovations to create more sustainable working practices. We are excited to announce this innovative partnership, which will deliver energy savings for our customers and help to reduce the carbon impact of every home we build.”
“As part of our Better with Bellway sustainability strategy, we have set ambitious carbon-reduction targets covering every aspect of our business, which are endorsed by the Science Based Targets Initiative. Enabling our customers to better manage their energy consumption will contribute to reducing scope 3 embodied carbon emissions.”
Neil Henderson, sales director at Travis Perkins, said: “We’re committed to helping our customers create better homes for the future and to leading on the net zero agenda, so we are delighted to have facilitated this partnership between Google and Bellway Homes, which will see Google Nest thermostats being installed in all of Bellway’s future new builds.”
“As a result, all future Bellway residents will benefit from smarter homes and be empowered to make more informed choices about controlling and regulating their home heating and thereby also cut down on energy usage.”
“This is also a real advancement in modern technology in that these thermostats are compatible with so many other smart devices that enhance safety, including security cameras and doorbells, and that there is no need to download multiple apps.”
As part of its sustainability drive, Bellway has invested in a series of Future Homes pilot schemes to trial new carbon-reducing innovations. This includes The Future Home at Energy House 2.0, a research project in conjunction with The University of Salford.
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