Visiting an ecohome 'will inspire you'

Seeing an ecohome first hand is one of the best ways to get ideas to transform your own home into a green goddess, according to the Independent.

Donnachadh McCarthy wrote in the newspaper that a visit to Susan Roaf's innovative ecohome in Oxford over a decade ago pushed him to "transform" his own existing 1840s home.

According to the article, buildings emit more than 50 per cent of the UK's annual carbon emissions while the production of building materials is responsible for a further 10 per cent.

Mr McCarthy recommends that a visit to London's Open House Weekend on September 20th and 21st will "allow you to get the same inspiration by highlighting four exemplary retro ecohomes".

One of the examples on show has reduced the carbon footprint of an 1870s home in Camden using measures such as internal wall insulation and light-pipes.

Jon McGowan of the Energy Saving Trust has claimed that around half of a home's heat loss is through the walls and loft.