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Changes to the government’s Green Deal cash-back scheme have been announced, to help more households drive down fuel bills and reduce carbon emissions by carrying out energy efficiency improvements. The scheme helps people to install energy efficiency measures by providing them with money back on the contributions they make towards improvements. The changes include increases … Read moreFRESH CHANGES MADE TO THE GREEN DEAL

The first stage of a study sponsored by insulation manufacturer Rockwool, has been completed on a West London estate that could provide a blueprint for taking householders out of fuel poverty. ‘High Rise Hope’ presents evidence from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on the social impact of greening homes by insulating residential … Read moreENERGY EFFICIENCY MAKE-OVER OF 1960S TOWER BLOCKS

Office design specialist Morgan Lovell has transformed a 1950s building, described prior to the refurb as a ‘black hole’, into a bright workplace, which achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating. The fit out at Charles Darwin House in London, which is home to the British Ecological Society, the Society for Experimental Biology and the Biochemical Society, … Read moreSUSTAINABLE OFFICE REFURB FOR ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

In the first of a two-part feature on the realities of building to the Code, Greenbuild News visits a Southdale Group development in South Yorkshire. The original plan for the Southdale site on Eldon Road, in Rotherham, was to build three homes to Code level three. But Southdale, a Halifax-based contractor specialising in social housing … Read moreCRACKING THE CODE

England’s first large-scale Code for Sustainable Homes level six development at Hanham Hall, near Bristol, is under construction. Work has started following completion of the formal contractual commitments and planning permissions between the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Barratt Bristol and South Gloucestershire Council. Welcoming the start Colin Molton, regional director for the HCA in … Read moreBARRATT DEVELOPMENTS ON SITE AT HANHAM HALL

DECC has announced increases to the money-off vouchers available under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP). The extra money is intended to cover the cost of a Green Deal assessment, which is now an obligatory part of RHPP, as well as paying towards installation of the renewable technologies. The funding available now is £2,300 for … Read moreINCREASE TO RHPP VOUCHERS

An affordable house that achieves level six on the Code for Sustainable Homes was unveiled at the Eco Innovation Forum in Westminster yesterday. The StramitZED building system, the result of a collaboration between Stramit Technology Group and Bill Dunster’s The ZEDfactory, blends proven technologies and innovative design principles to create zero-carbon homes. Bill Dunster explains: … Read moreAFFORDABLE ZERO-CARBON HOMES