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Lightbulb terrarium

Sustainability Advice

Free, independent and impartial advice on a wide array of topics relating to sustainability and sustainable living: renewable energy, green building and renovation, water and sewage treatment, organic growing, and more.

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Energy

Heat pump

Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are the best current option for reducing the carbon emissions from home heating in most UK homes.

Solar panels at CAT

Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panels

The price of Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels has dropped rapidly in the last ten years. A domestic PV array can now be cost effective without any subsidy.

Solar thermal

Solar Water Heating

Solar water heating (or solar thermal) uses sunlight to heat the water you’ll then use in your bathroom or kitchen. Even in cloudy Britain, solar energy can meet more than…

Wind Turbine

Wind Power

The UK is the windiest country in Europe. Wind farms are therefore a great way for us to meet our energy needs without carbon emissions. Small-scale wind…

Biomass room

Wood-Fired Heating

For some homes wood-fired heating could be a good alternative to fossil fuel. Whether it makes sense for you will depend on your location, the appliance…

Mini Hydro generator at CAT

Micro-Hydro Power

Micro-hydro turbines can be a very efficient and convenient form of small-scale renewable electricity. The best locations will be on steep hills, with fast-flowing…

Batteries

Battery Storage

We need energy storage and smart controls to reduce the use of gas-fired power stations. It will allow electricity from renewable energy to be stored and fed…

Eco-renovation

Retrofit - attaching cork insulation around a window

Whole House Eco-Retrofit

In CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain report, we promote a mass retrofit of all existing buildings, to greatly reduce heating demand. Renewable energy can then…

External insulation

External Wall Insulation

Almost one-third of all UK houses have solid walls, and we’ll be living in these homes for decades to come. If we don’t improve these houses, it will be difficult to…

Hempcrete

Internal Wall Insulation

Most of the houses we live in now will still be homes decades from now. However, it will be difficult for us to meet their current heating demand with only renewable…

Windows of the WISE building

Windows

Replacement glazing will be one of the most expensive parts of a renovation, so making good choices is important. Your choice will also affect the environmental…

Students on the deck at WISE

Airtightness and Ventilation

Reducing heating demand in our homes is one of the most important steps to a zero carbon future. It’s then far easier to install enough renewable energy to meet our…

WISE Courtyard

Keeping your home cool

Extremely hot summer spells are becoming common in parts of the UK. Rapid global action to reduce carbon emissions would reduce the chance of periods of extreme…

Building

Women holding a straw bale

Natural building materials

At CAT we’ve been using natural building materials for many years, and there are many examples around the centre. We also run hands-on courses and workshops…

Low-energy buildings

Ever since CAT first started, one of our main aims has been to construct low energy buildings. Reducing heating demand is vital when building or…

WISE building being built

Planning permission for an eco-building project

Getting planning permission for an eco-building project will often be no more difficult than for a conventional building. It will depend on the location, and whether…

WISE Building

The WISE Building

WISE, the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education, is a state of the art educational facility. It is home to CAT’s postgraduate courses on renewable energy, building…

Green Living

Switch

Energy saving at home

Domestic energy saving measures are vital if we are to achieve the goal of a zero carbon future. Reducing the UK’s energy demand will make it much easier to meet…

Cycling to CAT

Transport and Travel

The need to take action on climate change is more pressing than ever. Transport is one of the main causes of the problem: making up a quarter of the UK’s…

Carbon footprint

Carbon calculators, ecological footprints and offsets

Calulating where your carbon emissions and other environmental impacts come from is a very useful starting point for…

Water and Sanitation

Showering

Reducing water use

The average domestic use of water in the UK is 150 litres per person per day, but it is easy to reduce this to 70-80 litres per day.

Water splashing

Reusing Rainwater and Greywater

There are high-tech ways of capturing and reusing rainwater and greywater (the wastewater from showers & sinks) in place of mains water. However, the best…

Planting reedbeds

Sewage Treatment

If you don’t have mains sewerage, there are many treatment options you could consider. Ecological sewage treatment usually involves a combination of…

Composting toilet

Composting Toilets

A composting toilet treats sewage onsite, recycling nutrients into fertiliser that you can use it on the garden. There are many types of composting toilet, from…

Nature and Growing

Compost on a spade

Home Composting

Home composting is key to sustainable and organic gardening, as well as being the ideal way to recycle waste. CAT’s gardeners have tried out all sorts ofl…

Forest garden

The Edible Forest Garden

A forest garden takes as its model the most wonderfully healthy and productive organic system in Britain – the deciduous woodland. It consists of trees and shrubs…

Wildflowers

Saving Water in the Garden

As we start to feel the effects of climate change, droughts are expected to become more common in the UK. Hosepipe bans are therefore likely in many areas…

Lettuce growing in the CAT gardens

Growing Year-Round

Traditionally, summer is salad season, and root vegetables are the main winter crop. However, with a little planning you can extend the growing season and plant…

Volunteer in the garden

Organic Gardening

To look at the thriving gardens at CAT it is hard to imagine that 50 years ago the site was mostly bare slate waste. Hard work and a lot of compost has resulted in…

Log in the woods

Sustainable Woodland Management

Sustainably managed woodland can be both productive and beneficial to the environment. Broadleaf woodlands full…

Pink Flowers in focus with the WISE building in the background

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Looking across the CAT site

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