Low carbon plans should be made 'with the long-term in mind'

Renewable and microgeneration technologies could be the solution to achieving the UK government's goal of ensuring all new homes built in the country by 2016 are carbon-neutral, an industry expert has suggested.

Writing for the BBC's online Green Room series, Imtiaz Farookhi of the NHBC Foundation asserted that it is important to approach the issue of low-carbon housing with the long-term in mind.

"We cannot risk a situation where one, two or three generations of consumers will have to live with the legacy of poor decisions made today," he wrote.

He claimed that domestic carbon emissions can be cut through a number of renewable energy technologies, including biomass, solar hot water, wind power, solar photovoltaic, air source heating pumps and renewable combined heat-and-power fuel cells, among others.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, renewable energy generation technologies such as wind turbines are becoming "increasingly popular" alternatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at home.