Pure Portugal Information: for tourists & resident foreigners in Central Portugal

Eco Building & Renovation

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bullet Advert: Energy Efficient New Build Homes
bullet Protect Your Trees During Construction & Renovation
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Advert: Energy Efficient New Build Homes

Mondego Eco Houses

Mondego eco-houses provide comfort and a substantial reduction in heating and energy costs each year. Our standard eco-homes offer excellent value for money with prices starting at 28,000 euros, plus the land. Each of our homes are custom designed for each client, so you decide the specification levels. Options include solar & wind power, bore-hole heating & bio-mass.
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Articles

What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy makes sense, why continue to use fuel which cannot be renewed when it is possible to either replace this fuel or supplement it with energies that are renewed again and again and again?
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Protect Your Trees

Just because your trees have made it through decades, or even centuries, of the hardest of Mother Nature's storms, fires and other disasters, it doesn't mean they can sail through your decision to put in a hot tub!

Here are six pointers from Dennis Brown, consulting arborist with Urban Forestry Resources in Austin, Texas, on how to protect trees during construction and remodelling projects:

Make a plan to minimize construction activities near trees. Trees don't heal like people do. Injuries might grow over, but they will never really go away. It might be too late, once you start to notice a tree is being affected. And most won't show signs until five to seven years down the road.

If you have to do some digging in a tree's root zone, try to consolidate the work. Plan a route that can be used for as many purposes as possible, such as utilities, foundations and trenches. Also try to minimize any changes in the land's drainage. Too much or too little water in the soil can kill a tree.

Don't use any more than 4 inches of fill soil over a tree's root zone. Adding extra soil interferes with a tree's ability to exchange gases in its feeder roots. Carbon dioxide will build up, literally suffocating the tree to death.

Suffocation can also happen if the soil in the tree's root zone is compacted by heavy machinery. Just three or four trips over the root zone by a bulldozer can cause lasting damage to a tree. If heavy equipment must be driven over the root zone, mitigate damage by putting down a wood chip mulch in the area. The mulch will absorb much of the pressure without compacting the soil.

Trees are bigger than you think. Brown says a good rule of thumb for estimating the spread of a tree's root system (vital for tree health) is to figure the root system extends out from the trunk three times the height of the tree.

Don't compensate for stressing the tree by adding fertilizer. Trees seldom benefit from fertilizers even when they are not stressed.

Source: Mother Earth Living
bullet www.motherearthliving.com site in english

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News

Energy efficiency laws could prove costly

26 October 2006
Property owners face heavy fines if they fail to follow energy efficiency measures introduced under new government regulations. In an effort to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and improve energy efficiency, all property owners are now obliged to insulate buildings, maintain good indoor air quality and efficiency standards on air conditioning units.
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Books

THE WHOLE HOUSE BOOK
Author - P. Borer & C. Harris
Shows you how to make your home attractive, healthy, and energy efficient - without harming the environment. £35.00

bullet www.eco-logicbooks.com

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Links

Natural House Project

Construction of a roundhouse near Viseu
bullet www.carvalhal.home.sapo.pt site in portuguese

Plano B - Arquitectura alternativa

Eco Architects - based in Lisbon.
bullet www.planob.com site in portuguese site in english

Portugal Eco-Village Network

Eco Aldeias Portugal
bullet http://portugal.ecovillage.org site in portuguese

One Planet Living Portugal

One Planet Living, a joint initiative of BioRegional and WWF, partner with progressive developers and provide them the no-nonsense expertise to build the most advanced sustainable communities in the world.
bullet www.oneplanetliving.org site in english

Mata de Sesimbra Eco-Tourism Project

The Mata de Sesimbra eco-tourism project in Portugal is the first development that has agreed to develop and manage the site following our One Planet Living principles. The project developers, Pelicano, will undertake the world's first-ever integrated sustainable building, tourism, nature conservation and reforestation programme.
bullet www.bioregional.com site in english

Sunwoven

Renewable energy consultancy, who only specify what will work, what will meet your needs and what you can afford.

Whether you just want to use them as a consultancy to assess potential and advise accordingly, or whether you'd like them to manage the whole process from initial specification right through to final installation, they have the expertise and experience to make sure that it all happens with minimum fuss and maximum quality.
bullet www.sunwoven.com site in english

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PLEASE NOTE: We do our best to keep the information on this site correct and up-to-date, however we advise that you check current rules and regulations specific to your individual circumstances with the relevant authorities/professionals and/or a solicitor.

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Registered in England no: 5123198.
Registered Office: 93 North Street, Burwell, Cambridge, CB25 0BB, United Kingdom.

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