Half of Britain’s builders don’t know how to put new energy efficiency legislation into practice, according to an energy trust set up by the government.

Research revealed by the Energy Saving Trust this week reveals that, although 92% of builders say energy efficiency is now a priority for their industry, 70% say more help is needed in understanding latest guidelines.

And even with this level of difficulty on the part of builders, over one in four said they would actually like to see higher standards introduced.

With changes to Part L of the Building Regulations due to come into force and the voluntary Code for Sustainable Homes expected in April, builders need more support to get up to speed.

The Energy Saving Trust is encouraging UK builders to take advantage of their free advice and support and builders can visit http://www.est.org.uk/housingbuildings or phone 0845 120 77 99 to request free technical literature which will help you make the right decisions.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said: "It's clear that builders are keen to be more energy efficient and are supportive of legislation to raise standards in their industry."

"However, we risk losing that enthusiasm if we do not ensure that changes to the way the industry works are fully explained or understood."

"April obviously is a crunch period and the Energy Saving Trust is making it a priority to signpost advice on the new legislation and support available for builders."

The legislation that builders feel they need the most information on is the changes to Part L of the Building Regulations (63%), followed by proposals for Home Information Packs (57%) -which are expected to be introduced in June 2007 - and the Code for Sustainable Homes (53%).

The study does reveal, however, that builders are still engaged with energy efficiency and many are already incorporating measures that go beyond the indicative standards in existing regulations.

• Six in ten (61%) have incorporated high levels of insulation beyond current Building Regulations
• Over a third (37%) report that they have incorporated energy efficient heating systems higher than required by Building Regulations
• Two in five (44%) have installed more energy efficient lighting than currently required by Building Regulations

Steve Mills, managing director of A1 Lofts Limited said, "Sustainable design and construction is a high priority for us and we firmly believe that installing energy saving features is a sound investment for both our business and the environment. We would encourage the industry to embrace the higher energy efficiency standards due to be introduced next month and hope that sustainability becomes a priority in 2006."

The Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation funded by government and the private sector and has run the ‘Best practice in housing’ programme for a number of years. A significant feature of this programme is to support the development of new homes with high energy performance.