Designing energy-efficient homes is the easy bit - making sure the dwelling performs as expected is more tricky. That’s why forward-thinking housebuilders are embarking on some serious research. Alex Smith verifies the results The March Budget had an unexpected sting in the tail for green campaigners. Tucked away in supplementary document Planning for Growth was a paragraph stating that energy targets for new-build homes would be made less onerous. The news prompted a storm of protest from green groups. Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council … [Read more...]