Ecohomes is a credit based environmental rating scheme.  It’s currently operated as a voluntary scheme in the UK, but has been developed to be used against new dwellings as well as major refurbishment projects.

The assessment can be carried out at any point in the project lifecycle, but usually the earlier the assessment is taken the better.  This allows for any corrective action that needs to be made to be built into the schedule of works and minimises disruption.

The EcoHomes assessment tests the development or refurbishment against a set of criteria that help determine the impact the said dwelling will have on the environment around it.  Currently, the assessment areas include energy, transport, pollution, materials, water, land use, ecology, health and wellbeing and management.

Credits are awrded against the assessment criteria, when complete all of the credits are added together to give one overall score.  It is this score that gives the final result, this can be a pass, good, very good, excellent or fail.  The aim of the credit system is to consider the concern of climate change, use of resources and the impact on local wildlife.

The wide ranging assessment criterai covers such as aspect as how far is the nearest shop?  Does it require a car journey or is it easy enough to get there on foot?  This simple scenario can effect pollution, resources and transport.  Also, how efficient the heating system is and other household appliances can also have a major effect on the environmental impact of the development and the overall score attained.

An EcoHomes assessment can be ueful in pointing out energy saving solutions early in a development or refurbishment project and potential areas for improvement.  These are areas that if rectified can help the environment but also save money on energy bills in the future.