Potential house builders, whether individuals or developers, who want to learn more about constructing eco-friendly homes, got some good advice at this month’s Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival.

One of the major attractions at the Festival on May 19 and 20, was the Green Horizons exhibition which was staged in Exhibition Hall 3 on the Royal Welsh showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, featuring a broad range of renewable energy ventures, ‘green’ projects of various kinds and environmental protection topics.

The timing of the exhibition coincides with new legislation relating to building ecological homes and the use of renewable energy.

Tim Pullen, whose firm Weatherworks of Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, are experts in the field, are handling double the number of requests for help and advice than a year ago and will be present at the event to deal with visitors’ inquiries on improving house technology to cut energy consumption.

“All new developments must now comply to a greater or lesser extent with certain eco standards,” he said. “Welsh Assembly regulations stipulate that any developments of over 10 houses must produce at least 10 per cent of its energy on site and not many builders are aware of this.”

Similar requirements will eventually apply to all newly-built homes as a condition of planning permission, said Mr Pullen, and the new houses will have to provide for renewable energy instead of using fossil fuels by utilising, for example, solar panels or wind turbines combined with better insulation.

Mr Pullen will be among the team of experts on hand at the Festival giving advice and speaking at seminars on a variety of subjects ranging from new waste technology to crops for energy, solar water heating, composting and rainwater harvesting, and drought tolerant planting.

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