AECB , the Sustainable Building Association, brings together builders, architects, designers, manufacturers, housing associations and local authorities, to develop, share and promote best practice in environmentally sustainable building.

Refit west has been working on a pilot project with a small number of pioneers in Bristol and the West of England as part of their work to make it the most sustainable city-region in the UK.  The homeowners lived in different types of housing and were all committed to increasing the energy efficiency of their properties. Their report is available here and will now feed into the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Energy Saving Trust development of large-scale energy efficiency schemes for private homeowners.

Gentoo, a Sunderland based Social Housing Provider, share their experience of retrofitting 139 Sunderland homes in the Retrofit Reality Report.

Read the latest Sustainable Development Commission report.

Read the fantastic results of previous visits to SuperHomes!

Download the presentation given by Tadj Oresezczyn at the Alliance meeting 22nd January 2010.

One of the best ways to reduce your carbon emissions is to convert your heating to a wood fired system.  Wood is a carbon neutral fuel; it only emits as much carbon when burnt as it took in whilst growing.  An efficient wood fuelled boiler can cater for all your home’s heating and hot water requirements.

Firstly think about your room thermostat.  Could you turn it down by one degree? This could save up to 10% of your heating bill.  Could you turn down the thermostat on your hot water cylinder?  Probably 60 °C is high enough.

The greatest savings will be made if you currently have no loft insulation.  From nothing to 270mm will cost about £500, but could save approximately £110 in its first year.

Fit low energy light bulbs wherever possible. These are more expensive than standard bulbs, but they use so much less energy and last so much longer that each bulb could save over £60 in electricity costs during its lifetime.