Eco homes

[Pixiefish]

A friend is having a house built and is doing it 'ECO'. By this I mean, solar panels, heating from the earth, building half the house underground etc etc.

This has made me think- can I do anything to a house we are in the process of buying and will need some renovation. perhaps won't be able to do it straight away but surely I can do something.

Any one have an 'eco' house? Help please

www.barratthomes.co.uk/ecosmart/index.html
Paste this address into the address bar to find out about a collection of houses in lancashire that are being run " on green " for 18 months as an expt.

Hi, we are renovating a very old farmhouse as a 'green' house - have solar thermal, PV, and rainwater recovery for all our water (in fact we are entirely off mains for all our utilities). Happy to share more info on all of these, but am in France so not all will translate readily to UK.

Just wanted to add though, not to forget insulation. This really is the most cost-effective eco thing you can do when renovating. We have used hemp, recycled paper and recycled wood pulp in various places. Also sourcing materials with awareness - using sustainably harvested wood for new doors and windows, etc. These things sound relatively trivial compared to the big investment decisions, but I really do think they can make a big difference.

There is quite a good site \link{http://www.greenandeasy.co.uk} if anyone is looking for information on eco solutions for the house like Solar PV panels, wool insulation, rainwater harvesting etc as well as everyday things like kettles and lawnmowers. It explains things really simply, like domestic appliance ratings and 'good' wood furniture and stuff, they have quite a wide range of environmentally friendly products for the house and garden too. Not much for children, some nice toys but loads of other things to be 'ECO' in a normal way. Every time I go back there's more stuff added.

I found this site that is all about new eco friendly washing lines which had some unusal stuff that was pretty interesting.

have a look at washing lines and see what you think