Assessing green technologies

Green Belt Madness
There are literally hundreds of serviced, individual plots in the South East that could be developed with little or no environmental impact. The planners, meanwhile, allow green fields to be ploughed up and developed instead

Renovate or Rebuild: Which is Greener?
It’s the ultimate eco conundrum — is it better to green up our current housing stock, or start afresh? Tim Pullen investigates

Pioneers: The Self Builder
H&R talks to self-builder Will Anderson, who has built a stunning eco house in the most unlikely of settings

Pioneers: The Trailblazer
H&R talks to Jeremy Leggett, Chief Executive of the UK's leading solar solutions company, Solar Century, about the potential of domestic solar power

SIPs: Faster, Greener, Warmer?Structural insulated panels – or SIPs – have long been hailed as the ultimate construction system. Mark Brinkley provides all the facts to help you evaluate whether they really are the best choice for your project

Mark Brinkley: Is it possible to make old homes energy efficient?
Mark Brinkley asks whether it's possible to make our 25,000,000 existing homes energy

How to Specify Your Eco Home
It can be bewildering trying to decide which of the many green technologies to choose for your own home. H&R Eco Expert Tim Pullen looks at three different - and common situations and advises on what works best

Going Green - How to make a difference
There's a lot more to an eco house than a wind turbine. We introduce those essentials that will make your home truly green

Mark Brinkley on Thermal Mass
Are you familiar with the phrase ‘thermal mass’? It refers to the capacity of a material to store heat, and there is a debate around its importance which crops up every time low-energy building techniques get discussed. Mark Brinkley discusses the importance of thermal mass in new homes

Mark Brinkley on the Fuel Crisis
Most of the powers that be and the oil majors would have us believe that peak oil is something like 30 years away, but a small and vociferous minority think it’s going to happen much sooner. Mark Brinkley Discusses the implications of hitting the moment of ‘peak oil’

Eco House Design
Designing an ecologically friendly home is a balancing act and cost will always be a major factor. It is an unfortunate truth that building projects tend to exceed their budgets — and green homes are no exception. How can a house design be inherently eco-friendly?

New Standards... and How to Achieve Them
As more and more planning authorities introduce a standard requirement for new homes to meet Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, Tim Pullen explains exactly what it means, and how best to meet it

A Few Facts about the Code for Sustainable Homes
As of April 2008 all new planning applications in England will have to ‘reference’ the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH). The Code sets out a star rating from 1 to 6, where 1 represents a slight improvement on Part L of the Building Regulations and 6 is zero carbon

The Path to Zero Carbon
According to the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) we’re all going to have to be building zero-carbon homes by 2016, if not before. April sees the introduction of the first measures to gradually get us there. Tim Pullen investigates

Is Space Heating Still Necessary in Modern Self Builds?
Mark Brinkley examines the true costs of space heating and looks at whether it is really necessary in today's self-builds