UK’s 1st “Smart Housing” Development

Sommar Place, Milton Keynes

Here the latest smart home technology comes fitted as standard, but looks remarkably normal. That’s the point. These are not fantasy homes for millionaires or homes of the future. These are affordable homes for growing families, and the interconnected technology will soon be expected as standard. (Showhouse)

UK/Swedish Partnership

Developed by Swedish housebuilder Trivselhus, in partnership with Places for People, the new community of 39 smart homes combines Scandinavian design and energy efficiency with the latest smart home technology from Apple.

Idiot Proof Technology

Fully interconnected throughout each home, the idiot-proof technology is completely customisable. Residents can essentially programme their home to cater for their every whim. You can automate your house to put the kettle on in the morning, set the lights to turn on at a certain time and even warm the towel rail as you’re getting up.

Coming Home

Residents can also automate their home when out and about, based on when they will be arriving back and who’s in. Customised scenes, like ‘coming home’, can turn on the lights, set the heating to a desired temperature and play a favourite track as they pull onto the drive.

“Apple Annie” ?

An iPad and Apple watch come as standard with the house, so residents can command their invisible staff via Siri, along with the HomePod and Apple TV. For those worried about Big Brother watching, end-to-end encrypted security ensures that your daily habits remain behind closed doors.

“Positive Living” Impact

Ken Forster, Managing Director of Trivselhus, said,

“To date, this level of connected technology integrated into the build of a new property has only been available in multi-million-pound, bespoke smart homes. The technology has otherwise been available to retrofit, but this inevitably results in controls that are fragmented and therefore less seamless to use. It’s our mission at Trivselhus to develop family homes that have a positive impact on how people live.

Climate Shield

In Forster’s view, technology is essential in easing people’s lives, so it is important that moving forward family homes are designed with smart home technology at their fore. While no house can be called a home of the future without future-proof eco credentials. Trivselhus houses are built to sustain even Sweden’s extreme climatic conditions and the secret is known as Climate Shield: a superior level of mineral wool insulation and air tightness built into the closed panel timber frame walls during construction in Sweden.

Fabric First

This approach to manufacturing means the houses are very energy efficient and will last for the lifetime of the building. Impressively, they can be assembled in as little as a day.

Closing the Circle

• Smart Homes, like all others, require energy to operate. And in this case, the less the better for incorporating renewable energy generation. As with this, in our view it will not be long before UK regulations also require ‘SMART’ to become part of the new home (and other building) design and specification mix. We’re already working to incorporate improved output thin film Photo-Voltaics and relate technologies in our Low Energy designs.

Your Partner in Development

• Whether you are an architect, builder or private client, almost certainly you are becoming aware of changing homeowner preferences and aspirations. Working with our teams we believe will help you to provide you’re your clients want and more readily marketable homes. 

Better all-round Savings