Prof. Porteous is an architect and researcher whose interest extends to energy-efficient design moved from practice to in-depth research. In 1981, he became active in the international solar community and then a full-time academic in 1986 after leading a community technical aid centre.

He linked problems of fuel poverty to passive solar solutions via EU-funded Easthall Demonstration Project in early 1990s. Dr Porteous initiated the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) in 1993. He is the author of numerous books including THE NEW eco-ARCHITECTURE, (2002), Solar Architecture in Cool Climates (2005) and Sensing a Historic Low-CO2 Future (2011).