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Hydrogen-powered homes to demo greener alternative to natural gas

The natural gas we use to cook and heat our homes is responsible for over 30 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions so in an attempt to reduce that impact on the environment, two show homes where all the appliances are powered entirely by hydrogen are being built in Gateshead. As part of the government’s drive to phase out…

Grab a hammock and daydream of better days to come

If you have two metres or so of space, you can sling a hammock. And in these days of social distancing and self isolation, what better way of whiling away your leisure time? Snooze, read a book or daydream about better days to come. The word hammock originates from the Taino people of Central America who used the word hamaca…

Let there be (low energy) light

Like bicycles, filament bulbs are a design that has hardly changed over the last century. However, unlike a bicycle, which allows a person to travel at 10–15 mph, using no more power than they would require to walk, filament bulbs waste 95% of the electricity they use as heat. Indeed, in many homes the use of tungsten filament bulbs can…

Greening your home: Build yourself an Earthship

The concept of ‘earthship architecture’ took shape in the 1970s soon after the birth of the modern environmental movement. Michael Reynolds pioneered earthship houses by applying first principles to the architecture of domestic dwellings. Homes needed to do three things: first, they needed to use sustainable architecture, and building materials indigenous to the local area or recycled materials wherever possible;…