building-lasting-change-2017 / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Efficient home design

Phase change building materials - natural heat storage in buildings

  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 ...

Hawaii Preparatory Academy Energy Laboratory
Living Building Challenge

What is the Living Building Challenge?

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...

Trinity portable wind turbine for charging devices
Wind power

The Trinity portable wind turbine will charge your gadgets on the go.

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 ...

HERD Home energy rating disclosure
Grants and incentives

Ontario's Home Energy Rating and Disclosure plan (HERD) is great news for home buyers

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...

Is EPS foam eco-friendly? Exterior home insulation rigid foam panels
Insulation and soundproofing

Does plastic foam or Styrofoam insulation have a place in green building?

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...

Ontario climate change action plan
Grants and incentives

Ontario announces ambitious climate change action plan to reduce emissions

Learn how the Ontario Climate Change Action Plan can benefit you directly.  In June 2016, the Ontario government adopted a new Climate Change Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation, industry and building sectors. This will be backed by an investment of $ 1.9 billion annually over the nex...

Suzlon's LEED Platinum wind power living laboratory in India
Lifestyle and environment

Green Building is accelerating around the world

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...

60 Minutes On This Bicycle Can Power Your Home For 24 Hours (In Theory Anyhow)
Renewable energy

Can you really power your home with a bicycle generator?

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...

LEED Silver mid-rise in Gatineau, QC.
Lifestyle, location and commuting

Sustainable building practices create prosperous communities

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 Canada on the rise
LEED Homes

LEED Canada shows strong growth during summer of 2015 including first LEED® v4 certified project

Canada continues to demonstrate its progress in fighting climate change with 204 registered and 211 certified LEED  projects in Canada between May and September 2015. This brings the current total number of LEED certified projects in Canada to 2,466 – second highest in the world. Buildings play a critical role in the b...

Midori Uchi
Efficient home design

A new contender for the title of Canada's Greenest Home

Naikoon Contracting Ltd. is embarking on a new residential project that's expected to achieve some of the highest green residential construction standards in the country. "Our goal is to take current green residential building standards to the next level by employing some of the most advanced sustainable systems and ec...