Smart Modular Homes Powered by Movement-Generated Energy

The Future of Sustainable, Affordable Housing

A revolutionary way of constructing homes is being created in Australia that will help the country reach its net zero targets by 2050 while providing a solution for affordable housing. A twist on the recent innovation of modular homes, the construction technology will allow houses to be built that can convert all kinds of movement into usable energy.

Prefabricated modular smart homes will be built with materials such as titanium composites and carbon nanotubes embedded in the joints. The joints can capture movement-generated energy and apply it to power the house. Movement-generated energy can be accumulated from various sources, from the environment like wind and temperature or the residents walking around the home.

Currently, most houses in Australia are individually designed, constructed, and built on-site. However, this profound research project led by Infratech Industries and the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering at Western Sydney University would have the smart homes built off-site at a large scale with innovative joint technology. This would replace the need for labor and material-intensive structural cores used in traditional housing construction.

The financial and environmental implications are massive, according to researchers. It would ramp up the speed of construction, increasing the efficiency, speed, and quality of the build. Subsequently, the cost of delivering housing is minimized, and the home joints reduce operational costs for residents.

The joint research project is scheduled for completion sometime in late 2023 when it will become the world’s first self-powered modular building system that doesn’t require a structural core.

Solving A Lot of Climate Issues

To learn more the prefabricated modular smart homes and how movement powers them, go to Domain.com.au:

“Infratech Industries director Felicia Whiting said this was the future of housing construction.

‘It would solve a lot of climate issues, it would solve a lot of waste problems and save energy use in the end,’ Ms. Whiting said. ‘We’d like to call it a sustainable solution to building and housing and it uses new materials in ways that can enhance people’s lives in a real way.’

‘The sky’s the limit. It’s about the planet. It’s about doing everything to be at net zero. You need minimal labour on-site to install and we envisage in the future that it will be installed by robotics.’

‘Just moving or walking around a modular home can cause minute movements that can create an opportunity for energy to be harvested,’ Ms Whiting said.

‘Environmental factors like strong winds that cause vibration or differentials in temperature on the skin of a building can also be converted into electrical energy, provided you have advanced energy-absorbing materials and smart building structures in place.’

‘If we can demonstrate these systems work and the technology can be successfully used in new buildings, it will lessen the load on our power grids and the need for centralised power generation plants. We could build sustainable pop-up communities almost anywhere.’”

From Smart Homes Powered By Movement Will Be The Way Of The Future In Sustainable, Affordable Housing - Domain

https://www.domain.com.au/news/smart-homes-powered-by-movement-will-be-the-way-of-the-future-in-sustainable-affordable-housing-1097259/

Photo Source: S2A Modular (https://s2amodular.com/)

Is this an idea that you hope your government adopts as well? Or, if you live in Australia, would you consider purchasing one of these houses?

Written by S2A Modular & Associates Inc.

October 22nd, 2021