ceiling-fans / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

In order to ensure comfort and get the most from the various systems of our house air needs to move around. Our air source heat pump and our heat pump water heater work together in boosting the efficiency, and the ceiling fan is a big part of making that happen. This video explains the relationship between those syste...

Wood ceilings - what's the the skinny? Ahhh, the charm of a wood ceiling, seriously, what's not to like? The intent of this page is less about talking you out of installing gypsum board (drywall), and more about giving you a little encouragement if you are hesitantly considering a wood ceiling. It’s a natural product t...

It is pretty much inevitable that at least some warm, moist air from living areas will find its way into the roof of a building and bring with it the very real risk of frost and ice forming in a cold climate, or mold and rot in a temperate climate. This is a simple product of physics and the realities and limitations o...

Gas stoves - playing with fire? Fossil gas stoves and gas cooktops, greenwashed as using 'natural' gas, are even more of a problem than most people realize - especially if concerned about the keeping everyone in the family in good health! The Asthma Society of Canada says that the number of asthma cases being diagnosed...

Removing source contaminants and moisture from homes helps keep air healthy for occupants, and helps keep home humidity down. Excess humidity in houses can cause moisture damage, but what is not often considered is that added energy consumption involved, as heating moist air requires significantly more energy than hea...

For most of us, purchasing or building a home will be the biggest investment of our lives. This section is about knowing what to look for in new homes to get the best value for your dollar, or what to look for in a building lot for the same reasons. What to look for in a location: Being close to where you work and pla...

What is Passive Solar Heating & Cooling? Passive heating and cooling of homes is not new. The above image is of Mesa Verde National Park, the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in Colorado, occupied from 700 to 1300 AD. This early North American settlement was shaded from the summer sun, but fully exposed to the su...

We cannot overstate the importance of airtightness in homes and attic rooms. A proper air barrier reduces heat loss in winter, overheating in summer, and prevents moisture build up in walls which can lead to mould and rot. We recently had a chance to try out a product that at first sounds too good to be true, but one t...

Having a backup heat source that can operate without electricity should be an important consideration for many homeowners in colder climate zones, especially those who rely on a heat pump or electricity as their primary source of heat. In this guide, we will explore the various factors that can influence the need for a...

There are a few things that will cause any furnace to either stop running, or only deliver cold air, so here are a few easy DIY furnace repair tips that may get you warmed up without having to call an HVAC professional. It is at least a place to start, so you aren’t paying someone to come tell you that your thermostat ...

Noisy baseboard heaters -yeah, it's a thing... Over the years we’ve had many questions about ticking, humming, popping or even banging or clicking noises coming from electric baseboard heaters or hot water heated baseboard heaters. The main complaint is that they are loud enough to wake people up – or subtle enough to ...