Measure your energy use with Owl

Cutting back on your energy consumption is important to save our planet's resources but it can be difficult, especially if you don't know how much energy your gadgets and home appliances are racking up.

This new wireless energy monitor, the Owl, could help change all that. The Owl clips onto your electricity supply cable at home. The monitor connects to a portable wireless monitor which you can put anywhere, or even carry around. Data on your energy consumption is then transmitted and displayed on the LCD display on the portable device.

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Britain given disappointing green rating

Britain is languishing near the bottom of a league table that grades countries green credentials, according to a study published on Friday.

The Reader's Digest table of 141 countries places Britain in a disappointing 93rd spot for energy efficiency -- including conservation efforts and renewable energy use -- and 77th for its greenhouse gas emissions.

Britain also comes out a lacklustre 25th in the overall list of greenest and best places to live.

US environmental economist Matthew Kahn compiled the survey using the UN 2006 Human Development Index and the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index.

Eight of the top ten countries are in Europe, with Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden leading the way.

All of the top ten cities are European with Stokholm finishing top of the study.

Glasgow (13th) is the highest ranking British city, with Manchester finishing in 30th place.

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Ikea ventures into flat-pack homes

Ikea is putting on sale flat-pack homes, with their own plot of land, at the furniture giant's store in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear today.
The timber-framed homes will be targeted at first-time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder.

The concept was pioneered in Sweden in the 1990s and has grown in popularity with more than 1,000 of the houses springing up each year across Scandinavia.

Home improvement enthusiasts, however, will be denied the ultimate DIY project since all the properties will already be assembled.


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Tax relief for carbon-neutral homes

From today, buyers of new 'zero-carbon' homes no longer have to pay stamp duty.

The change, announced in the 2006 Pre-Budget Report, means that buyers of a home certified as carbon-neutral will pay no stamp duty, up to a maximum relief of £15,000 on a £500,000 property.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says that the purpose of the measures is to "kick start the market for zero-carbon homes, encourage microgeneration technologies, and raise public awareness of the benefits of living in zero-carbon homes".

The new relief will be valid until 2012, and only applies to buyers of new properties.

The building industry, which was recently criticised for failing to deliver more green homes, has reacted coolly to the measures. A spokesperson for the Home Builders Federation told BBC News that he "could not think of a single development right now that would qualify for the relief".
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'Zero carbon' not yet defined

The government says the regulation is designed to "help kick start the market for zero-carbon homes, encourage microgeneration technologies, and raise public awareness of the benefits of living in zero-carbon homes".

It hopes that by 2016 all new homes will be built to zero carbon standard.

The move is part of the government's drive to cut back the UK's generation of greenhouse gases, which cause climate change.

However, the Treasury has yet to provide an exact definition of what actually makes a zero carbon home.

In a Budget "impact assessment" published in March, the Treasury said that a "zero-carbon home is one that does not consume fossil fuels for heat and power".

"It is highly insulated and uses renewable energy to power its needs over a year through micro generation.

"Heat and power technologies include ground source heat pumps, photovoltaic cells, solar water heaters and wind turbines."

"It will draw from the grid when the microgeneration [e.g. solar panels] is insufficient but could sell excess generation back to the grid."

The Treasury says it will have agreed a more detailed definition by the end of November.

House builders hope for a flexible definition of the term "zero carbon".


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