building-lasting-change / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

  This article was inspired by a podcast I heard at Positive Energy, where I have yet to hear a podcast that I didn't want to listen to a second time, so check them out if you're like me and you think listening to building science  makes mundane tasks like folding laundry a joy. This particular episode was about phase ...

What is the Living building challenge? The Living Building Challenge is the most rigorous and comprehensive of all building rating systems. Performance requirements include net zero energy, water and waste, measured after a full year of operation only. LBC is broken down into 7 performance areas,  which are then subdiv...

We've seen portable charging devices for personal gadgets, we've seen vertical axis wind turbines and now we have seen a marriage of the two. That's right, appropriate technology enthusiasts, there is a portable wind turbine on the horizon and it's perfect for charging your electronic gizmos.  Skajaquoda is a research ...

As part of its shift to a low-carbon economy, the Ontario government just released its Five Year Climate Change Action Plan to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. What this means for homeowners and buyers, is that before a house can be put on the market it will require an energy audit and rating, w...

Are foam insulation panels a green choice? The short story is, maybe. And the long story is, well.... When we launched Ecohome about a decade ago, our mission was to create a green building website where homeowners and builders could learn how to make informed design and product choices and build sustainable, energy-ef...

Courtesy of the USGBC, the following is a guest post by Harvey M. Bernstein, Vice President of Industry Insights & Alliances, McGraw-Hill Construction and John Mandyck, Chief Sustainability Officer for United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security. There is no doubt that sustainability initiatives and envir...

Mitigating climate change at home, get on your bike! As we look for ways to mitigate climate change, improving home energy efficiency and decentralising power generation is something we can do to reduce our personal energy consumption and carbon footprint. Theoretically then moving towards home solar, wind power and ev...

This post is courtesy of Hutchinson Builders Sustainable building practices are doing more than just helping the environment - they are also helping to create stronger and more prosperous communities. This is according to the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), with its chief executive Romilly Madew explaining ...

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized rating system for commercial buildings and homes administered by the CaGBC (Canada Green Building Council)  to encourage sustainable building practices. While the commercial program has been in effect for much longer, LEED for Homes C...

The U.S. Green Building Council and the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning released a landmark report Feb. 29 that describes how green buildings advance resiliency in disasters. “Green Building and Climate Resilience: Understanding Impacts and Preparing for Changing Conditions” ...

While governments have a role in shaping and improving the built environment through zoning, development bylaws and other means, developers also play a large role. They choose where to build, the types of homes or buildings that get built, and many of the details that make up a home, neighbourhood and community.  The b...