The Real Cost of a Green Roof vs a Standard Roof Over 20 Years
# The Real Cost of a Green Roof vs a Standard Roof Over 20 Years I’ll be honest with you – I spent about three years going back and forth…
How Long Does a Passive House Take to Build Compared to a Standard Home
# How Long Does a Passive House Take to Build Compared to a Standard Home Building a Passivhaus doesn’t just mean thicker insulation and triple-glazed windows. It means accepting that…
What Building Regulations Apply to Straw Bale Construction in the UK
# What Building Regulations Apply to Straw Bale Construction in the UK I’ll be honest, when I first started looking into straw bale construction about eight years ago, I assumed…
Belfasts First Passive House Bungalow and What It Cost to Build
# Belfast’s First Passive House Bungalow and What It Cost to Build I’ve been following the passive house movement for years, watching it slowly creep across Europe and wondering when…
Katowice Passive Office and Low Energy Design in a Cold Climate
Here’s the thing about passive buildings in Poland: most people think they’re a nice idea that might work in Germany’s mild climate, but surely not in the industrial heartland of…
How to Write a Self Build Project Plan for a Natural Material Home
# How to Write a Self Build Project Plan for a Natural Material Home After watching dozens of natural material self-builds go spectacularly over budget and beyond deadline, I can…
MVHR Systems and How Mechanical Ventilation With Heat Recovery Works
# MVHR Systems and How Mechanical Ventilation With Heat Recovery Works I remember the first time a client asked me about MVHR systems. She was living in a new build…
Findhorn Ecovillage Scotland and Decades of Sustainable Community Living
I remember the first time someone told me about Findhorn Ecovillage. A colleague mentioned a Scottish community that had been running successfully on renewable energy and ecological principles for decades.…
How to Make Your Existing Home More Sustainable Without a Full Renovation
# How to Make Your Existing Home More Sustainable Without a Full Renovation > **TL;DR: Start Here** > > You don’t need to gut your home to make it substantially…
How to Plan and Build a Passive House in the UK
# How to Plan and Build a Passive House in the UK > **TL;DR: Start Here** > > Building a Passive House isn’t just about adding more insulation. You need…