New Ecohomes Show will be an ally in the green war

Our homes are currently responsible for 30% of all UK emissions but are carbon-neutral homes in the next 10 years a realistic target?

The Government is aiming for carbon-neutral houses by 2016 – sounds good and could be a vote winner but what does it actually mean and how can it be achieved? Creating energy-efficient building homes and producing energy for heating, hot water and electricity using eco-friendly on-site technology and no fossil fuels is quite a tall order.

The new Ecohomes Show, part of The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show at the NEC in March, will help make matters clearer. Together with a free daily seminar – A Guide to Ecological Home Design and Sustainable Construction - and a day devoted to Eco Masterclasses, the Show will feature a wide range of products and services ranging from the familiar, such as solar and other alternative heating systems, through to recycled building materials, natural paints and insulation materials.

“Improving domestic energy efficiency will cut fuel bills and reduce carbon emissions. This has to be a good idea whether you are building a brand new home or making your current home more efficient. The Ecohomes Show will offer a practical approach to achieving these goals”, said Nick Noble, Show Director.

According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a respected environmental think tank, a pound invested in energy efficiency buys seven times more "solution" than a pound invested in nuclear energy. There is only one way our energy bills are likely to go and that is upwards, so adopting a greener approach to energy is imperative both economically and ecologically.

Zac Goldsmith, editor of The Ecologist magazine, puts it into context. “If every light bulb in the UK was exchanged with an energy efficient model, we'd save the power equivalent of nearly two advanced gas-cooled reactors.” If we all make this small adjustment, the payback will be enormous.

But to achieve truly carbon neutral credentials, homes also need to be built using sustainable materials such as timber or recycled materials - and as much of it as possible should be local to avoid wasting energy transporting it. Never before has building a home for the future required quite so much thought.

The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show, including The Ecohomes Show, is at the NEC, Birmingham, from 22-25 March 2007.

For more information and tickets, visit homebuildingshow.co.uk.