We'd all like to do our bit to save the planet by making our homes environmentally friendly. But is it easy? Emma Cullinan talks to a couple who built their own low energy, high design home

The name of the Eco House in Mill Lane, Shankill,Co Dublin, says it all. The three-bedroom home, which is for sale by auction on October 7th through Colliers Jackson-Stops at a guide of €1.1 million, is an excellent example of a sustainable home run on high-tech gadgetry.

The single-storey house was built by engineer Peter Bonsall, a consultant in timber and intelligent house control systems, for his family and the house reflects the care that people put in when they are creating something for themselves.

"The aim was to create a light and airy environment, using as many eco principles as we could," he says.

"Many of the things we chose were really hard to get and the house uses technology not widely available in Ireland."

He was inspired by a low-energy house he worked on in the UK, for which he was asked to supply timber. "I thought it was a great place and when me and my partner Pamela began to build this house we realised that we could make a difference and use the latest technology to have a beautiful, well-lit home that cost little to run."

The energy savings start right at the front door which is insulated and had to be imported from Sweden. Beyond this is a welly room and toilet in a lobby designed to stop the main house getting cold when the front door is open.

Beyond that again is the kitchen from Danish Design in Blackrock, Dublin, with ash units and low-energy appliances from Neff. The three bathrooms are beautifully decorated with Duravit bathware, marble floors, mosaic splashbacks and chunky iroko (from sustainable sources) basin stands and shelves.

The main bedroom has an en suite wet room from Finland, lined in mosaic tiles.

The house has been carefully positioned, with its windowless back to the cold north, and a sunroom, tiled in marble, running along the south-west side. This space,with its glass walls and roof, sits next to the large oak-floored kitchen, dining and livingroom and then runs along past the three bedrooms.

This means that everyone wakes up to the morning light and can step out through timber-framed glass doors into the sun space overlooking the garden (which runs down to a stream). There is also a separate building which can be used as an office or granny flat. "The house is designed essentially as three pods," says Peter. "The sleeping pod, living pod and working pod."

The timber-frame house was designed by Cole Thompson Anders architects, who have environmental credentials and designed that first eco house which Peter worked on. The exterior is clad in cedar which has been treated so that it's not discoloured by the sun and the external skin is raised slightly above the ground to vent the timber. "Canadian cedar is tremendously durable," says Peter who points out that 95 per cent of the world's dwellings built in 2004 were timber frame.

The moss on the roof absorbs rainfall with the run-off being collected to flush the toilets. The house is heated through a low-energy heat pump, it's insulated with sheep's wool and much of the lighting comes through well-placed windows and sunpipes, which direct natural light into internal spaces, including the walk-in wardrobe in the main bedroom. The result is that this house costs very little to run.

Each element has been chosen for its low-energy credentials: either in the manufacture, or use. The paints, plasterboard and MDF are environmentally friendly.

The planners were very receptive to the house, enjoying the fact that the green field that it was built in would still look like a green field from above because of the moss roof. One consultant was worried about the idea of a wormery, saying that it might pose a danger if the worms were to escape. "I persuaded him that if that would happen they would simply disappear below ground rather than head down Shankill high street mugging people," says Peter.

The sustainable elements are all incorporated into a well-designed, beautifully finished home which is run on a intelligent system, which can be programmed. You can, for instance, turn all of the lights on from your car and if the alarm goes off while you are out, the system will call your mobile phone.

"Being an engineer I do think we can't carry on the way we are at the moment. We need to use our resources more carefully. Also, the engineer in me thought that it makes a lot of sense to have an intelligent house and what bloke doesn't like switches and gadgets?"

A lot of care has been put into this build, yet circumstances have forced the family to put the house straight onto the market, giving someone the opportunity to buy a well-designed living space that is at the forefront of sustainable technology in Ireland.