The Future of Housebuilding arrives with Ultrahome

With traditional construction under pressure from labour shortages and rising material costs, Ultrapanel Building Technologies Ltd has created a new vision for constructing high quality homes at pace. Ultrahome, manufactured at speed at the company’s Rishton facility, shows how modern offsite construction can work alongside innovative technologies such as Daikin air source heat pumps. The result is a comfortable, efficient home designed for today’s market, while also creating an exciting model for more sustainable home construction.

Rethinking traditional construction

Tristin Willis of Ultrapanel puts Ultrahome into context by explaining some of the challenges housebuilders currently face. “Traditional construction methods are becoming harder, with extended programmes, higher costs, and shortages of skilled labour. Consequently, build times are increasing, which means that quality can suffer, and scaling up becomes even more difficult.”

Given that the current government is committed to building 1.5 million new homes by the end of this current parliament, Ultrapanel’s structurally insulated panel system could be a perfect solution that addresses these challenges, as Tristan notes. “Our panels give housebuilders, from open market developers to social housing providers, a faster, more reliable way to build. So not only can we help to meet ambitious new housing targets but also deliver enhanced performance.”

Ultrapanel is a structurally insulated panel system that replaces traditional blockwork and timber. It allows a home to be complete and watertight within a day. In a traditional build, that can take 10 to 12 weeks!

A concept home for the future

Ultrahome began simply as a showcase of Ultrapanel’s product, but its purpose expanded. “We realised we could create a house that meets the future, but is actually ready-to-build today,” Tristin says. “It fully meets current regulations and already looks ahead to the future homes standards.”

This created the opportunity for collaboration. “We wanted to highlight innovation, and not just with our system, but leading technologies that contribute to better homes. That’s where partners like Daikin, Mixergy and Unico became essential.”

Why Daikin is the right partner

Daikin’s air source heat pump provides the heart of Ultrahome’s comfort system. Daikin’s Jim Graham explains why they were very keen to be involved: “The project was a great opportunity to bring Daikin technology together with partners like Mixergy for hot water and Unico for heating and cooling. We were able to demonstrate how these systems integrate to deliver complete home comfort.”

The sizing of Daikin technology confirmed the strength of the building fabric. “We were able to specify one of our smallest monobloc heat pumps because the insulation and airtightness were so strong,” Jim says. “Ultrapanel’s fabric solidity means the heat pump works more efficiently, and the whole system is optimised.”

Creating a complete comfort solution

The comfort system was shaped through early collaboration. Tristin describes the evolution: “Initially, we considered a standard configuration, an air source heat pump with a Mixergy cylinder. But as the project grew, we saw the opportunity to integrate other healthy home solutions. Bringing in Unico allowed us to incorporate heating, cooling and controlled fresh air.”

Jim explains how Daikin integrates within the Ultrahome. “The heat pump connects into the Unico system, which uses ductwork in the loft to deliver warm or cool air to each room. This removes the need for radiators and provides improved comfort and air quality. Hot water is also fully integrated. We link straight into the Mixergy cylinder,” Jim says. “Which ensures consistent hot water availability and efficient energy use.”

A new model for developers

While Ultrahome serves as a demonstration property, its design is replicable. “This shows housebuilders and housing associations what can be done,” Tristin explains, “The industry wants tried and tested solutions, and our model can be adopted immediately. We’re now looking at a 13-home development where this concept is fully replicated. Thanks to the show home in Rishton, developers can simply say, we’ll take this home as it is.”

Fast, predictable delivery

The speed of constructing Ultrahome is what really sets it apart. “A traditional build of this size can take 26 to 32 weeks,” say Tristin. “The Ultrahome showroom was completed in around 12 weeks, so that’s a 50 to 60 percent reduction in time.”

Jim adds ease of implementation from a Daikin perspective: “The heat pump installation was very straightforward. Our recognised local installer fitted everything smoothly. Daikin’s monobloc system is designed to integrate very easily.”

Ready for tomorrow’s homes

Ultrapanel sees Ultrahome as the foundation for further innovation. “We’re only at the lower stages of where we plan to be,” Tristin explains. “Future versions will include solar PV, battery storage and more off-site completion. The demonstration home shows the direction of travel towards net zero living.”

A platform for low cost, healthy living

The project also contributes to broader UK housing goals. “This isn’t a science project,” Tristin says. “It’s a real home that provides healthy living, low running costs and supports the government’s net zero ambitions. With energy partners like Octopus,” he adds, “we can enable models where residents have zero electricity bills for 10 years. That shows what the future of housing can look like.”