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Cherwell District Council have opened a large scale zero carbon development, due for completeion in 20131. This has 400 completed properties with an estimate of 6000 by the end. There is also a school and 250 care homes.

Ecobuild the future at ExCeL, London Tue 5 to Thur 7 March 2013. This a great show and worth the effort of getting to Excel in London Docklands. It is an interesting venue. This is the best exhibition for sustainable design, construction and the built environment. There are many attractions including: Practical Installer Future Materials […]

This show is on Saturday 8 to Sunday 9 September, at Westpoint, Exeter, UK. Various seminars are lined up with eco green build experts: Saturday 8th 11.30am Ross Stokes SelfBuild & Design Magazine A beginner’s guide to self build Simple introduction from someone who has built and renovated properties, and is also a journalist. 12.30pm […]

Eco Workshop: Retrofit Solutions Sat 25th Aug 2012 The National Self Build & Renovation Centre, Swindon, UK on Sat 25th Aug – 10.00am to 5.30pm. Tickets free in advance from this link > How to retrofit green eco technologies into homes and houses. how to get your house air tight ventilation issues (such as trickle […]

Ecobuild 2012 is sponsored by Schuco, who make solar power and heat (thermal) systems, glass, facades, etc. Ecobuild claims to be the world’s biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment – although that claim doesn’t sound very ‘eco’. Bigger? I though Small is Beautiful. Anyway… This show is focussing on “new eco […]

The Conservative government’s decision to more than halve the FIT (feed-in tariffs) for electricity put back into the grid (from sources such as solar power) from 43 to 21p per kilowatt hour, as reported here on Building DIY previously, has been attacked by the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) as disastrous for the solar and […]

This is to update the blog about the companies that fit solar PV panels for free. The Conservative Government is reducing the FIT rate by half from December 12th 2011. Any solar PV panels installed and also registered with an energy company will qualify. So it is no good booking it in as the waiting […]

Like many households in Britain, we have received leaflets through our door about fitting free PV (photovoltaic) solar panels, with free use of the generated electricity. This sounds too good to be true as even a small system can cost well over £10,000 so what is the deal? Is it a scam? How does it […]

The annual Grand Designs show, fronted by Kevin McCloud, is on again, in Birmingham NEC, very easy to get to for most people in the UK unlike London. Kevin is doing book signings so check that out on the website. I am interested in what happened to the Swindon eco estate, I think it has […]

The National Home Improvement Show. Friday 30th September to Sunday 2 October. Earl’s Court, London, open 10am to 5pm every day. This is a big show with a focus on saving energy – hardly surprising as energy prices have increased so much. This having the green effect as saving money is a bigger motivator than […]