With the planet's resources dwindling and energy prices rising, there has never been a better time to turn your house green. A collection of converted and newly built houses are opening their doors to the public to show people with home eco-envy the way forward.

Ruth Morgan reports.

For the first time, tours of green houses are taking place across Brighton and Hove to show what can be achieved - from the simple to the spectacular.

The eco open houses project is the brainchild of three local organisations inspired by the annual open house season, which showcases art in the city.

The 14 featured dwellings range from everyday houses to a self-sufficient eco-earthship - and all within easy reach of the city centre. The innovations on show include a solar-heated swimming pool, breathable walls and grass roofs.

The project was put together by Brighton and Hove Council, the Brighton Permaculture Trust and the Brighton-based Low Carbon Trust.

Mischa Hewitt, of the Low Carbon Trust, said: "People go and look at the wonderful art but not the houses. We thought this could be a good way to show what people in the city are doing."

An advert was placed to find people with ecological houses keen to open their doors to city's residents.

Mischa said: "I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers of people who contacted us. You hear a lot of green rhetoric and you never know what's actually being changed - so it was great to see how many people responded."

Some of the houses on show have been purpose- built with the environment in mind, but many are older houses converted in the hope they will save money and the planet at the same time.

Tanya Fitzgibbon, 39, decided to install a solar-powered hot water system in her Edwardian terraced house in Lyndhurst Road, Hove. She wanted to save money on household bills and to become more energy efficient in general.

Now all their hot water is heated by daylight and they only need to boost it with their boiler in the winter months. They have seen their gas use drop by 30% in a year.

Tanya said: "It's something I'd wanted to do for a while after reading an article in The Argus and when we built a loft extension the opportunity was there.

"We used a company in Lewes and I'm really happy with it. My husband Steve was unsure at first about the costs, but with prices rising so quickly it will pay for itself even more quickly."

Flo Scott, 35, went one step further with her home when she moved into an eco housing cooperative in Golf Drive, near Hollingbury Golf Course, Brighton. The 16 timber frame houses on site have large south-facing windows to bring in light and warmth and are heated by waste wood in burners. Since moving in five years ago, Flo has pioneered some more green changes.

She said: "I'm now the green group coordinator.

I've driven forward some new policies and we now have water butts to collect rainwater for the garden, composters for kitchen waste, we recycle as much as possible and reuse anything one of us is getting rid of as far as possible.

"But I'm still not satisfied - I want a solar heated water system so we can save on our electric bills." Mischa believes the time is right to launch eco open houses as the current economic squeeze brings new converts to the green cause.

He said: "The average utility bill is now £1,044 a year and electric and gas prices are set to rise by 20% and 40% respectively. It's impressive how much these home owners have saved.

"I think the price of energy will have a far more profound effect on people changing their houses than anything else."

Mischa believes the open houses will make the possibility of change seem more achievable.

He said: "You hear about all this new technology and new green ideas for the home but it always seems a little bit far away - but these are houses on our doorsteps, right in the middle of the city."

Seven of the show houses are "retrofit" - older houses converted to be greener - and seven are energy-efficient new builds.

The Low Carbon Trust has constructed one of the most futuristic examples of a sustainable living with the Earthship Brighton.

It built the totally self-sufficient green building using recycled materials and it is run on solar energy for heat and power and rain for water. The Earthship heats and cools itself and uses plants on site to treat sewage.

The uninhabited Earthship in Stanmer Park provides the ultimate example of how technology can be best used and what can be achieved.

The eco open houses are open on Saturday and Sunday. Visit www.ecoopenhouses.org for further information and to book a place on the tour.

What do you think of the green houses? Are they the way forward when energy is so costly? Tell us below.