Welcome to the ECOHUS magazine, created to inspire and inform you about how to make your new-build house or renovation more sustainable. Our homes are our most personal and intimate spaces, the stage setting for our life and relationships, the foundation of our health and wellbeing, and an expression of our style and aspirations. It is also the biggest financial investment most of us will make.
Making the next house you live in an ECOHUS makes sense for you and the planet. We hope you enjoy these articles, and please do add your comments or questions.
about
Our aim at ECOHUS is to make sustainability mainstream for house building and renovating.
projects
Come and see a selection of our past and current projects.
how sustainable change happens
How does sustainable change happen in the real world? To make things like bio based insulation the new norm we need to disrupt established regimes across the industry landscape.
how to make a house affordable
Housing affordability has complex social and political causes, but there are simple ways to reduce construction costs.
what are the ECOHUS accredited details
Our ambition is for the ECOHUS accredited details to become the default for sustainable housebuilding.
what is a sunspace
A glazed sun-facing room is the simplest way to enhance solar gain – and grow some veg.
it’s about performance
What makes an ecohouse “eco” is how it performs across a range of sustainable criteria.
work from home
Having to work from home during the COVID lockdown has been challenging for many people, but also revealed its benefits.
what does an ecohouse cost
Building a house to be sustainable doesn’t have to cost more.
what the people said
Our survey showed that people believe sustainability is important when buying a new home.
what is an ecohouse
The term ecohouse means different things to different people but there are some essential ingredients.
turn off the water
The way we use water is just as important for an ecohouse as the way we use energy.
turn up the power
The demand for electricity is set to increase, so how can we deliver sustainable energy to an ecohouse.
certified sustainable
Whilst it is not essential to get formal certification for an ecohouse, these different schemes are useful to consider.
the Oxford Ecohouse
The Oxford Ecohouse was the subject of the seminal book “Ecohouse” by its owner, Prof Sue Roaf.
the Village Homes eco-development
Looking very much like its suburban neighbours, Village Homes in Davis, California, is one of the earliest and best examples of eco-developments.
turn up the heat
In colder climates even the best insulated house will need a heating system.
use linoleum
Linoleum is a high quality sustainable material made from natural tree rubber.
a house built of plants
Plants provide many of the most sustainable building materials.
retrofit v new-build
The pro’s and con’s of a new-build house rather than refurbishing an existing house.
what is passive solar design
Passive solar design means harnessing the natural energy of sunlight to warm our homes.
why we put fabric first
Fabric First means making the building envelope as energy efficient as possible before thinking about the energy source for heating and cooling.
why renewable energy isn’t important
The typical image of a roof covered with solar panels is not always the most appropriate choice.
why circular construction is important
The construction industry needs to transform from a linear economy to a circular economy.
why embodied carbon is important
Embodied carbon is all the carbon emissions related to the “making” process and it’s probably more important than carbon from energy use.
use recycled aggregate bricks
We haven’t completed this article yet but if you would like to contact a supplier try: Kenoteq
use clay plasters
We haven’t completed this article yet but if you would like to contact a supplier try: Clay Works
use wool insulation
We haven’t completed this article yet but if you would like to contact a supplier try: Thermafleece
use hemp insulation
We haven’t completed this article yet but if you would like to contact a supplier try: Indinature
the Autonomous House
If a radical proposal is made to change the way that houses are serviced, it is perhaps too much to demand that people should also have to change their expectation of what a house should look like.
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