• 3 available credits
• Credits worth 1.17% points each
• Mandatory Element: No

Aim: To promote the provision of guidance enabling occupants to understand and operate their home efficiently and make the best use of local facilities.

Assessment Criteria:

Full MAN1 2010 Issue

• 3 available credits
• Credits worth 1.17% points each
• Mandatory Element: No

Aim: To encourage and reward provision of guidance enabling occupants to understand and operate thier home efficiently and make the best use of local facilities.

Assessment Criteria: Credits are awarded for the provision of a simple user guide which covers information relevant to the 'non technical' tenant/owner on the operation and the environmental performance of their home, as follows:

Full MAN1 2009 Issue

Direct. Gov. Public service information and services online

Energy Performance Certifi cate (EPC)

Energy Saving Trust

The one-stop information gateway for local public services

Sustrans available

The Waste and Resource Action Plan

Your New Home & Environmental Features
1. Introduction & Design Features
2. Code for Sustainable Home outcome
3. Your new address & developer details
4. Running in your new home

Energy Efficency In the Home
1. White Goods and Appliances
2. External & Internal Lighting
3. Heating Your Home
4. Emergency Information
5. General Energy Saving Tips

Water Saving
1. Features in your new home
2. Water Saving Tips

Recycling & Waste
1. Why do we have to change?
2. Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle
3. Bag & Box it, don’t bin it
4. Free Garden Waste Collection Scheme
5. Recycling Centres
6. Hazardous Household Waste
7. DIY & Home products
8. Household Waste Sites
9. Junk Mail

Emergency Information
1. Emergency Contacts
2. Smoke Detectors

Public Transport
1. Park & Ride
2. Bus
3. Railway
4. Cycling

Responsible Purchasing
1. Before you buy
2. Remember Recycled
3. The problem with plastic
4. Excessive packaging
5. A question of sustainability
6. Fairtrade
7. Organic

Traditionally home user guides are paper documents provided with a house and its new owner to encourage and inform, enabling occupants to understand and operate their home efficiently and make best use of local facilities.

Disadvantages of a hard copy paper-back edition home user guide:-

• Extensive time & money deployed by developer/architect for preparation & research of the documentation
• Any changes to legislation or local services are not updated and so the Home User Guide becomes out of date
• The Home User Guide can become damaged or lost

How the online home user guide is different:-

The home buyer will:-

• Have their own dedicated website, totally unique to them.
• Be able to access all required information and more in all formats, including: online, printed, cd's, brail plus in any language.

Advantages for the developer:-

• Extremely quick and easy to use (all we require is your development postcode and dwelling numbers), meaning minimum setup time and cost for the developer
• The evidence you must provide to your code assessor will be automatically generated at both design and post construction stages
• It includes all required information specified in the code for sustainable homes manual for (Man1) Home user guide
• The system also provides your code required composting leaflet (Was3)
• The system also provides the energy labelled white goods information required in (Ene5)
• Because of the interactive nature of the Online Home User Guide everything stays up to date automatically (unlike a printed guide)
• We can also provide your own fully branded online client forum. This enables home buyers to quickly and easily get in contact with the developer saving further time and cost.

Existing users of the online home user guide include: Housing Associations, RSLs, Developers and SME Builders