by David Davies and Alison Davies1
In 1973 OPEC, the oil producing countries’ cartel, increased the world price of crude oil by more than threefold, precipitating an energy crisis. Suddenly there was a great deal of urgent interest in new sources of energy and in energy efficiency.
In the late 1970s Fulmer secured a contract from Calor Group on the use of solar energy for domestic space heating and water heating.
A solar laboratory was built south of the canteen at Stoke Poges and was completed during 1976.2 The total volume of the lab was 280m³, similar to that of a typical dwelling, and it had a total solar collection area of 56m². The construction of this laboratory enabled the thermal behaviour of various types of dwellings to be simulated. It was fully instrumented for monitoring, recording and analysing performance as a function of the local climate, and it could be rotated to study the effect of orientation on solar radiation collection efficiency.
Figure 1: Fulmer Solar Lab from the South West (Z237)
Related research was undertaken under the same programme to identify the materials, components and processes which should be employed in domestic solar heating systems.
Figure 2: Fulmer Solar Lab from the south
Today, with the emphasis again on renewable power generation, ‘solar panels’ is generally understood to mean ‘photovoltaic panels’. In 1973 the principles of photoelectric power generation were already long understood and in fact physicists at Fulmer had worked on solar power for satellite applications, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that photovoltaic panels started to be explored as an economically feasible solution for domestic electricity generation, 3 and it wasn’t until the mid 1990s that the first domestic prototypes began to be connected back to the grid. 4
In the 1970’s and before, the term, “solar panels” meant something different. A solar panel then was a copper box, painted black, through which water circulated and which was directly heated by radiation from the sun. This solar hot water collection was the technology under investigation in the solar lab.
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HomeWorld 81 exhibition – Milton Keynes.
In 1981, Milton Keynes Development Corporation in the new town of Milton Keynes organized an exhibition of full sized demonstration houses. Branded ‘Homeworld ‘81’, its byline was: “it’s what’s happening to houses”. Twenty major developers from the following countries – Britain, Canada, Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand – took part and between them built thirty six houses. 5
The Developers’ Brief
The companies that took part were invited to build houses which ‘contain innovative features, either experimental or not yet in widespread use within the industry, which could become common features in the next decade. Innovations in design, construction, materials and equipment’ were anticipated. 6
The exhibition was visited by more than 150,000 people during May 1981 and many more in the subsequent months. 7
One of the most distinctive houses in the exhibition was the Ideal Home Solar House by Architects Dominic Michaelis Associates.8 The Architect’s Journal described it as “probably the most imaginative and innovatory building on show”,9 whilst Building Design described it as “one of the most innovatory and best thought out in a string of low energy dwellings”. 10
The Ideal Home Solar House integrated solar technology by Calor, based on the installation at the Fulmer solar laboratory.
“This solar house is highly insulated, includes triple glazing and has 27m2 of solar collectors on the roof. It has a conservatory to improve the level of passive solar energy received. The solar collectors are more steeply tilted to improve their level of performance in the winter, and they have an improved collector with a selective surface to increase performance. The design incorporates a chemical phase-change salt heat store which is made by Calor Ltd to replace the idea of using water storage for the heat. This allows the size of the heat storage to be considerably reduced. The heat leakage from the store is ducted into the heating system. It is estimated that solar energy will supply over 50% of the heating requirements of the house.”11
Again, these technical improvements are based on the research at Fulmer.
December 2024
FRHG ref: V882
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1 Urban Fabric Architects LLP and University of Nottingham
2 F104-it The Institute of Physics 1976 SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF COUNCIL
3 see installations at Energyworld, Milton Keynes 1986
4 In 1994, the first PV system in the UK to be connected to the national grid was installed at The Autonomous House in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. The house was designed to be self-sufficient, and the PV system was intended to generate the house’s annual electricity use.
5 see Homeworld official catalogue, MKDC 1981
6 https://www.houseplanninghelp.com/what-impact-did-the-homeworld-exhibition-of-1981-have/
8 Skelton, T and Sutton D, 2024 Homeworld ’81 Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre, Milton Keynes
9 Architects’ Journal 29 April 1981, p779
10 Building Design 3 April 1981, p28
11 Energy Projects in Milton Keynes: Energy Consultative Unit Progress Report 1976-1981 https://oro.open.ac.uk/19946/