Buildings are where the majority people in modern societies spend most of their time, whether in homes, commercial buildings, industrial facilities or retail complexes. The design and construction of buildings require a large investment of time, money and other resources. Then they require additional resources for running costs and maintenance. Bad design can greatly increase energy consumption over the whole lifetime of the building. Fortunately, good building design can greatly reduce energy consumption during construction and ongoing throughout a building's life. - Description added by: David Lockie

Our homes are responsible for a growing percentage of overall carbon emissions, as our use of new electronic gadgets grows, we continue to leave devices running on standby (responsible for 10% of our energy bills!), and waste precious heat and resources. Fortunately there are a lot of things we can do to lower our carbon footprints in our home, including improving energy efficiency, installing renewable energy, recycling, and using more efficient appliances. Click the picture to the right to search our interactive domestic environment. - Description added by: David Lockie