Greater energy efficiency for UK homes, in the form of measures such as insulation, solar thermal water heating and double glazing, may be needed to tackle rising domestic energy consumption.New figures from the Department for Energy and Climate Change DECC reveal that domestic energy use rose in 2008 compared to...

Almost £1 million pounds will be saved when two councils move into one building with environmentally-friendly measures installed.A ground source heat pump will help warm the building, while solar thermal water heating panels will provide half the energy needed to keep the building's water hot.Suffolk County Council and St Edmundsbury...

Photovoltaic solar panels are among the renewable energy devices planned for the first building to receive the 'outstanding' rating in an environmental assessment.The microgeneration technology and a biomass plant will provide heat and electricity for the 35,500 metre squared G Park Blue Planet warehouse in Gazeley.It will also generate energy...

Homeowners in Exeter are being encouraged to make their homes greener by switching off their appliances and consumer electrical goods.Exeter City Council is working with local environmental groups as part of the Big Switch Off, a two week campaign to urge people to save energy in their homes. The local...

Solar photovoltaic systems worth £25,000 are thought to be part of Brighton & Hove council's plan to invest in its council housing programme. The city council is expected to invest £20 million in affordable property to ensure buildings are fit for tenants and meet the requirements stipulated in the government's...

High level eco-features make up part of the recently completed 106 green homes built by affordable housing provider Home. The firm has constructed the housing units as part of the SmartLIFE initiative with the work taking place in the villages of March and Chatteris in Fenland, Cambridgeshire. SmartLIFE is an...

Homeowners need to make a "few simple changes" to increase their energy efficiency, one family has claimed. Speaking to the Independent, residents of Green Lane in Leeds, which recently won a competition to find the UK's most green homes, said that saving energy and money in the home does not...

The development of green homes in the UK needs to receive more money from the government, an independent committee has advised. According to the Environmental Audit Committee's (ETA's) Green Fiscal Policy in a Recession report, the government needs to provide low-carbon developments with a more coherent package of financial...

A property's green home status should be regularly examined by a homeowner to ensure the most energy efficient practices are being followed, one environmental expert has claimed. Writing for the Independent, Chiara Cavaglieri stated that people can find out about the green credentials of a property by looking at its...

Energy efficient heating and microgeneration are among the environmentally friendly measures installed in houses at one new development in Surrey.The houses energy efficient features and solar panels to generate renewable energy will help new residents cut their energy bills, according to the developer.In promotional material Bryant Homes said: "Each home...

A development of homes with water conservation taps and that are cheap to run has been rescued after the previous developer faced financial difficulties.The Bright Green Homes scheme at Norfolk Park in Sheffield was being developed by Environment Trust until the economic downturn put the brakes on the project.However, housing...