Beauty, meet efficiency: Seven beautiful eco-homes, from Kent to the Isle of Skye

Kent — £3,250,000

The best eco-homes — and this is one of them — fit perfectly into their surroundings while also ticking the relevant green boxes. This five-bedroom family home near Cranbrook has wonderful views from its elevated location, yet still nestles into the surroundings in this part of the High Weald AONB.

It's designed by award-winning RIBA architects pH+, with landscaping by Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Joe Perkins, and has an A-rating and a score of 95 in its EPC certificate. That's down to its air-source heat pump and MVHR system (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery'). And it's also a beautiful luxurious home set in 2.5 acres.

For sale via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.

Wales — £4,500,000

In a prime spot on St Brides Bay in the heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, this magical home has views that speak for themselves.

It's an award-winning design with a wonderful location, yet it's not too remote to live a full life: the charmingly tiny city of St David's is a short drive, as is Haverfordwest, and the ferry to Ireland from Fishguard.

For sale via Fine & Country — see more details and pictures.

Isle of Skye — £560,000

You don't have to be a high-roller to live a glorious life in an eco-friendly home, as this six-bedroom, timber-framed house on the Isle of Skye shows.

The location is clearly the big draw, but this is also a home that is pretty close to being self-sufficient. The house comes with an air-source heat pump, underfloor heating and a private water supply.

For sale via R. House — see more details and pictures.

Devon — £3,500,000

A big house — seven bedrooms — amid 58 acres of hills and woodland above Lyme Regis, with views out to the English Channel in the distance.

The house's eco-credentials are very solid: with an EPC score of 88 it's just below an 'A' rating, but there's room to upgrade. The design is the work of the German company Baufritz, renowned for their superb quality pre-built homes.

For sale via Knight Frank — see more details and pictures.

Yorkshire — £2,500,000

Thermal wood panelling, solar panels, air-source heating and a battery storage system for any excess energy produced give this house impeccable green credentials. Its layout and features — with up to six bedrooms and lift — make it an ideal country home for multi-generational living.

Above all, though, it's a light, spacious house in a picture-perfect part of Yorkshire.

For sale via Strutt & Parker — see more details and pictures.

Yorkshire — £3,500,000

Proof that grand country houses can be eco-friendly arrives in the shape of the beautiful Helperby Manor, not far outside York. It's an eight-bedroom, 6,327 sq ft house in nine acres of grounds.

Beyond the main house there is an annexe that's ideal for use as a holiday let or a granny flat, while other outbuildings include a garage and a gym. And while it's not quite as close to carbon-neutral as some of the purpose-built, new-builds on this page, its solar power and battery storage give it an EPC rating of C — almost unheard of for a 1910 house.

For sale via Blenkin & Co — see more details and pictures.

Hampshire — £1,150,000

Finding an eco home amid the wonderful thatched cottages of the Hampshire village of Longstock is something of a surprise — but this example is so pretty, and sensitively-designed, that it somehow fits in amid the centuries-old homes that surround it.

It was built in 2008 by architect Paul Jenkins of Place, not for a client but as his personal home. Its extremely efficient thanks to the air source heat pump, while the construction itself was designed to maximise efficiency and complement the natural materials used.

And while this three-bedroom home is new, the plot is not: it sits in mature gardens and is ringed by an original 19th century wall.

For sale via Savills — see more details and pictures.