As this year draws to a close I share some important news about our membership community 'The Hub' in my latest podcast. www.houseplanninghelp.com/393 #Passivhaus #PassiveHouse #SelfBuild

Donald Trump has filed a $10bn lawsuit against the BBC over a Panorama documentary! 🚨 If he wins, our national broadcaster could be wrecked - and license fee payers could be stuck with the bill. Stand with the BBC: tell leaders don’t pay Trump a penny! 38d.gs/2auv

It's the penultimate podcast of 2025 and we're talking embodied carbon with Elly and Kirk from Arbor Architects. www.houseplanninghelp.com/393 #SelfBuild #Retrofit #EcoHome

@virginradiouk.bsky.social These are always my favourite bits of the show, when you talk about kindness and how we can all work to become the best versions of ourselves. #Inspiring

It's always a joy to visit projects. Recently I managed to catch with architect and author Marion Baeli. www.houseplanninghelp.com/392 #Retrofit #EnergyEfficiency

'I've been remembering my life in theatre' he said grandly. (Most of it was a massive failure) But every now and then, we can experience something that makes AI look like . . . AI llewellyn.substack.com/p/the-last-b...

Coming soon on the podcast we explore: - Sheep's wool insulation. - Insuring homes constructed with natural materials. - Improving airtightness with an aerosolized sealant system. - Replacement dwelling planning consent. #Housing

It was around this time last year that I got to visit RUSS. And hats off, it was quite the journey to delivering this scheme! www.houseplanninghelp.com/364 #CommunityLedHousing #CommunityLandTrust

When it comes to flooring, an earth floor takes some beating! www.houseplanninghelp.com/hph391-earth... #EarthFloor

If you have high performance windows, have you checked the gaskets recently? Marion Baeli says these can start to fail after a number of years and affect #airtightness. In my latest podcast we talk more about her building performance assessments of retrofitted homes. www.houseplanninghelp.com/392

Marion Baeli is my guest this week on the podcast. It's over a decade since the Retrofit for the Future competition but have the projects stood the test of time? And if they have, what is the difference between these retrofits and those in the ECO programme? www.houseplanninghelp.com/392

I've just bought myself a Fairphone. I've been wanting to give it a go for a while. www.fairphone.com

If you're taking on the One Planet Development scheme in Wales, what sort of house do you build? Well Brendan and Ludka Powell decided to go for an off-grid, straw panel #Passivhaus! www.houseplanninghelp.com/hph333-what-... #Straw #EcoHome #PassiveHouse

For those in the middle of a project, what's been your biggest achievement this year? #SelfBuild #EcoHome #Passivhaus

Sovereignty? Democracy? Sorry, but we can't afford those anymore. We'll be sued if we try to defend them. This week's column is about a massive but scarcely-covered scandal. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There's lots to love about earth floors: - They have very low embodied carbon. - They can be truly local. - They can be composted at the end of the lifecycle. - They soften sounds in a room. - They look beautiful... and feel incredible under your feet! www.houseplanninghelp.com/391 #EarthFloors

Jeffrey Hart is my latest podcast guest. He used to be a 'generalist' natural builder but the demand for his earth floors has become so great that that's pretty much all he does these days! houseplanninghelp.com/391 #EarthFloor #EcoHome

Tonight we're celebrating 10 years of Rewilding Britain (@rewildingbritain.org.uk). I don't think I've ever come across an organisation which has shifted both public attitudes and tangible outcomes on an issue so fast. I'm proud to be associated.

Glorious sunshine all morning = free heating for the next few hours (and possibly overnight). #Passivhaus #PassiveHouse

Having a dream to build your own home is one thing, but a common stumbling block is the land search. So what should you be looking for and how do you generate your own luck?! www.houseplanninghelp.com/390 #SelfBuild #PlotSearch #FindingLand

Anyone who has *ever worked* for the BBC as an employee, freelancer, contractor or service provider may like to sign an open letter (link below) launched by Chris Packham. Approaching 4000 signatures currently and growing fast. Please note this is to **defend** the BBC. www.defendthebbc.org

It used to be that if you were trying to reduce carbon emissions, you insulated and sealed, what's called "fabric first." Now that we have heat pumps, many are questioning whether fabric-first was the right approach. It's complicated... lloydalter.substack.com/p/what-the-h...

It's everything 'earth floors' in my latest podcast. Jeffrey Hart from the Earthen Floor Company is my guest. houseplanninghelp.com/391 #EarthFloor #NaturalMaterials #EcoHome

I'm looking forward to checking out Llama Croft today. I've heard so much about it. www.llama-croft.com #Passivhaus #NaturalMaterials

I have always found @georgemonbiot.bsky.social's writing insightful, but this article sums up what I've been feeling for some time. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... #SocialMedia #Power #ClimateChange

This time last week I was at the National Self Build and Renovation Centre. It's fantastic to see fresh investment at this permanent exhibition and covering an important 'hole' in most homeowner's knowledge: #retrofit. www.nsbrc.co.uk #Renovation #EcoHome

Are you just beginning your self build journey? If so, this podcast episode is for you. www.houseplanninghelp.com/390 #SelfBuild #EcoHome #FindingLand

Coming soon: we chat to Jeffrey Hart about earth floors.

Is anyone joining the climate action march in London this weekend? I'm going on my own at this stage!

Does anyone know any Black or Brown Reform UK supporters? Even if it’s just social media handles. I just wanna talk #journorequest

Looking for inspiration for a new build or retrofit? Well there are plenty of great projects to flick through in our archive. www.houseplanninghelp.com/podcast/ #SelfBuild #EcoHome #Passivhaus

What should you be thinking about when looking for land for a house build? It's what I'm talking about in my latest podcast. www.houseplanninghelp.com/390 #SelfBuild #DreamHome #FindingLand

I'm looking forward to returning to the National Self Build and Renovation Centre tomorrow. They're launching a new #retrofit zone. www.nsbrc.co.uk

In tomorrow's podcast I'm running through some key considerations for finding a building plot.

How do we put a stop to this? It just feels so wrong. Bless all of those affected. www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

Your 'moment of doom' for Oct. 31, 2025 ~ The illusion of being eternal. "Last year was ... likely the hottest in at least 125,000 years. An international team of scientists warns that the world is sliding toward what they call 'climate-driven chaos.'" www.earth.com/news/study-s...

I've been on climate action marches before, not loads, but I think it's important to vote with your feet sometimes. I see this is coming up on 15th November. Is anyone else going? actionnetwork.org/events/londo... #ClimateChange #ClimateEmergency

Nobody likes talking about things that go wrong but it can be incredibly valuable when they do. Es Tresidder faced thousands of pounds worth of damage when he took the roof off his house and couldn't keep the site dry. So how does he reflect on it today? www.houseplanninghelp.com/389 #Retrofit

Will South's home is in a Conservation Area. So how did that impact his #insulation strategy at the front of the building? Check out my conversation with him here: www.houseplanninghelp.com/387 #Retrofit #Victorian

Quick question - does anyone know of a #Passivhaus development that has been sold to property investors?

Good episode, it's always worth listening to what @estresidder.bsky.social has to say

Question for heat geeks! Who makes a 5-unit, Air-to-Air mini-split with an external unit smaller than 9kW? I am getting quotes for 9 or 12 kW because they need so many internal units but my peak heat load just isn't that high. Does anyone make a 6 or 7kW ext. unit that can feed 5 internal units?

One of the best ways to learn is to chat to people who have been there and done it. That's why we love catching up with self-builders at the end of the process. Here's how Colin and Janice Gardiner reflect on Hazel Tree House. www.houseplanninghelp.com/ten-things-w... #Passivhaus #EnergyEfficiency

If you've built a home in the last five years, can I ask how you found your site? #SelfBuild #DreamHome

UK wind power benefits and costs 2010-2023 : Lower energy bills through avoided gas: £14.2bn Avoided infra & new gas generation: £133.3bn Subsidies paid to wind power: - £43.2bn Overall benefit to UK economy **£104bn** Don't believe the wind power haters www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It's interesting to see which podcasts land well and I've had some good feedback on my chat with Es Tresidder which covers: - Powering a house with an electric car - Coming to terms with water damage - Heating a #Passivhaus with an air-to-air mini split www.houseplanninghelp.com/389

I went to see 'Fake News' yesterday, which is a stand-up show about Trump that is blended with history. Three points I've remembered: - Trump has a German ancestor. - The family wealth came from his dad who built garages when cars were just emerging. - Two of his wives barely spoke English!

It's October and I've just clocked up 7 years in my #Passivhaus. I can't believe it. And Chris has long since retired! N.B. Here's a podcast I made after 5 years, reflecting on the whole house-building experience - www.houseplanninghelp.com/336. #SelfBuild #EcoHome #PassiveHouse

Es Tresidder from Highland Passive is my latest podcast guest. We've got some interesting topics to discuss, including how he dealt with a severe blow in construction when his site got waterlogged and thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused. www.houseplanninghelp.com/389 #Retrofit

Es Tresidder returns to the podcast tomorrow. In the meantime check out his first appearance, when we talked about how a #retrofit could be an opportunity to upskill. www.houseplanninghelp.com/327 #Renovation #EnergyEfficiency #Housing