Sunwoven in Portugal

We’re pleased to announce that we have begun development for an eco-house, designed specifically for the Portuguese market. More details soon…. All enquiries to ecohouse’at’sunwoven.com

We are pleased to announce that our new store for green building and decorating products is now open. Please visit us at http://www.sunwoven.com/ecostore.htm

We have eco insulation, non-vapour natural paints, a concrete replacement (hemcrete), a full range of renewable energy products and many more items regularly added. All of this is available in Portugal!

We offer two different types of award winning heat pump exclusively to the UK and Ireland. Reliable, safe and conforming to European standards these systems are manufactured in Portugal to exacting standards and exceptional quality combining high performance with superb value for money.

Both are extremely efficient providing water heated to between 55C and 60C all year round, 24 hours per day, even on rainy days in the winter. The most economical solution on the market for providing hot tap water. With up to 60% of your hot water provided free, over 20 years product life expectancy and the value added to a property these systems ask the question, ‘What are you waiting for?’ find out more

Accoring to a recent article, The Aptera is the newest two-seat car with high fuel efficiency entering the market – the company is accepting orders for delivery in about one year. The producers claim that it can achieve more than 300 miles to the gallon (or less than 0.78 l/100 km) and a top speed of 150 km/h.

The three wheeled car comes in full electrical or hybrid diesel versions. The full electric version is powered by a 25 hp (19 kW) electrical motor fed by Ni-Zn batteries and it will include regenerative breaking. The hybrid version will also run 100% on electric power but will have a one cylinder diesel engine to charge the batteries.

The Aptera is said to have a range around 900 km on the hybrid version and 200 km on the full electric version. The car is equipped with a PV panel on the roof that power an air conditioning unit that keeps the car cool on a sunny day – when you need it. It is made of 100% recycled materials and provides a spacious “cockpit” for two passengers.

The high efficiency achieved is due to the extreme aerodynamics that provide it with a very low drag coefficient.

As we know, hemp is such a versatile plant and has many, many uses. One of the most exciting of recent times is the use of hemp in construction. Hemp is the second fastest growing plant on the planet after bamboo, and the use of hemp in construction products means a genuinely sustainable product, with a very high degree of carbon dioxide sequestration. In fact, growth of 1 tonne of hemp shiv uses up nearly 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide. One of the leading hemp construction product manufacturers produces a product marketed as hemcrete:

Tradical® Hemcrete® is used to build walls. In timber frame buildings it provides the wall form, the racking strength and the insulation. In steel and concrete framed buildings, it provides the wall form and insulation in one monolithic product.

Among the important technical considerations for wall infi lling materials of timber framed buildings, is that the excellent vapour permeability provided by Hemcrete® is protecting the timber from deterioration mechanisms and extending its longevity. The lightweight of Hemcrete® means that lightweight timber framing and foundation structures can be used which can reduce costs and construction time making Hemcrete® a very efficient building medium.

In steel and concrete structures, the vapour permeability also delivers a protective environment against corrosion.

The high thermal performance and air-tightness of the Hemcrete® walls means that single skin structures are sufficient and do not require additional insulation layers. This avoids the need for cavity wall construction and makes construction speed and simplicity a very attractive feature of Hemcrete® walling construction.

The ability of the walls to breathe and the store heat allows for a passive self regulation of the temperature and humidity within the building in general, often reducing the need for air conditioning.

As well as being ideal for new construction, Tradical® Hemcrete® is well suited for the renovation and repair of old timber-framed buildings as a viable and sympathetic replacement for the original wall in-fill.

Frontier TV is an ethical business & living Internet TV channel and website featuring videos, commentary and resources for ethical consumers, as well as enterprises with an ethical focus. Its aim is to increase awareness for society and environment to affect positive social change.

The purpose of Frontier TV is to provide innovative, uplifting and highly relevant programs, news and documentaries focused on the cutting edge of today’s top social, spiritual, economic, scientific and environmental issues. The channel aims to create open and honest forums of discussion that bring together the business, environmental and ‘quality of life’ communities with a commitment to mutual respect and creative win-win solutions. www.frontier.tv

At Sunwoven we’re pleased to be able to offer you a solar powered dehumidifier, banishing dampness and stale odours.

This revolutionary ventilation, dehumidification and air heating panel is easily fitted to any building and provides a free source of fresh warm and dry air all year round expelling damp stale air and virtually eliminating condensation in buildings and other living spaces. It is particularly suitable for those properties that are prone to damp and not constantly occupied such as holiday cottages, static caravans and boats but it is also a highly effective means of maintaining sweet air quality in modern homes prone to condensation and dampness.

Find out more at sunwoven

So say the ‘People’s Daily Online‘. By the end of 2006, China’s renewable energy utilization amounted to 200 million tons of standard coal (excluding the traditional use of bioenergy), accounting for 8% of total energy consumption in China – 0.5 percentage points higher than that of 2005. This was revealed at the 2007 World Solar-energy Conference held in Beijing.

Director of China’s Renewable Energy Academy, Shi Dinghuan, who is also a consult for the State Council, made a speech on China’s renewable energy development at the conference.

He pointed out that the Chinese government has paid great attention to the development and utilization of renewable energy by issuing the Renewable Energy Law; and making a medium and long term development plan on renewable energy.

Small-scale hydro-power plants, wind power, biomass energy, solar energy and geothermal energy are all developing rapidly; while research and application in the field have also developed considerably over the past ten years. In particular, small-scale hydro-power, solar energy, and methane utilization are all leading technologies in the world; they have laid a solid foundation for large scale utilization of renewable energy. The solar energy heater is the earliest industrial project in China. By the end of 2006, China’s solar energy heaters grew to a scale of 90 million square meters, accounting for 75.8% of the world’s total holding.

According to China’s medium and long term development plan on renewable energy, by 2020 China’s renewable energy will account for 16% of total energy consumption.

Cost effective ethical advertising to the eco concsious market by placing your promotion with ethicalescape!

ethicalescape is ranked number one in Google for the essential search terms for your target audience, ecoholidays, ethical holidays, ecotours and ethical accommodation. They are also ranked in the top ten for the search terms, ecotourism, responsible travel and have high page ranking for a number of other relevant search terms.

Over the last couple of years ethicalescape have been referenced by a number of international publications, national press and websites, achieved both print and television coverage and ranked in the top 20 ethical living websites in the world in Amazon.com. They receive 35 - 40,000 unique visits per month, primarily from UK based customers of middle to high income with an ethical and environmentally responsible outlook.The majority of their visitors are based in Europe with the majority based in the UK, however they have a worldwide reach with Australia and Canada offering a significant amount of their readership.

More details here.

The world’s first large scale wave farm, to be built off the coast of Cornwall, will get the go-ahead, it has been announced today. Guardian Story here