The prototype of an energy-efficient house has been programmed to send alerts if its residents fall ill.

InterHome is the first in the UK which can monitor the health of its occupants, text residents if the house is being burgled, or the door has been left unlocked. "We developed it further with elderly people in mind so that the house can send alerts if the person has a fall or a stroke," said Johann Siau, senior lecturer at the University of Herfordshire's School of Engineering and Technology.