compact-fluorescent-bulbs / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Warm light and dimmable LED bulbs
Lighting

All about LED bulbs - video

DIY video about choosing the best LED bulbs and DIY lighting fixture installation tips. LED bulbs are here to stay, it's time to make the leap. The colours are warmer now, the bulbs are dimable and the price is coming down. Incandescent bulbs give off lots of unwanted heat, which in summer months makes your air condit...

Mixed interior room lighting
Lighting

Home lighting design

The first thought of home lighting design should be the orientation of windows for quality of life, but also passive solar heat gain. Not only does the sun offer free heat, but free light as well. Natural and certain types of artificial lighting can reduce the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). Studies s...

LED filament bulbs
Lighting

All about LED filament bulbs

What is the difference between LED and Incandescent lightbulbs? At the beginning of the 20th century, light bulbs were handmade, with incandescent filaments painstakingly being placed in tiny glass globes. Manufacturing is a little more automated now, but the performance of incandescent bulbs hasn't changed - 80-90% of...

Mobile tiny house
Tiny house

Is Tiny House living in a cold climate good or bad for the planet?

Are Tiny Houses Worth it? Are Tiny houses a good investment? That depends on your lifestyle and how well you build them. Here are some things to think about before you join the Tiny House Movement and commit to life in an extremely small space.  We have featured a number of tiny houses on our pages over the past few ye...

Tiny House living in cold climates - one of the best tiny homes on wheels
Tiny house

Tiny Houses - Living in Cold Climates

Are tiny houses a good investment? That depends on how you want to live and how well they are built. Small homes are more affordable and eco-friendly that large homes, but are tiny homes on wheels for sale locally green? Read here to find out if Tiny Houses are good for the environment. It seems somewhat contradictory ...

Disposing of household waste properly - recycling, garbage & toxic materials
Kitchens

Waste management: compost and recycling

Curbside pickup of garbage, compost and recycling: To facilitate recycling and waste management, first determine just what services are available in your municipality so you can sort your waste properly. Not all collection and disposal services are the same in all regions - recycling, compost collection, toxic waste de...

Hydraloop gray water recovery and treatment systems
Greywater Recycling

At last, a compact & easy to maintain solution for gray water recycling & treatment - the Hydraloop

At last, a packaged solution for gray water treatment & recycling - the Hydraloop Reducing home water consumption is an increasingly important issue, as the world is already facing a global water shortage crisis. We don’t think much about it in Canada & America because most of us have yet to suffer the extreme ...

Off-grid leed home
Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

Off-grid living blog post 5: appliances, mechanical and other systems

This is the fifth piece in a blog series written by Craig Anderson as he documents the design and construction of an off-grid LEED Gold passively-heated home. See post 1 of the off-grid homes blog here, the overview . or post 2 in the off-grid homes blog here covering design and construction choices. or here see post 3...

Sorting home recyclable materials at a recycling center
Lifestyle and environment

Why recycling is important, and how to recycle correctly at home

Spending more time at home in the last few months since Covid-19 redefined our reality has presented many with an opportunity to clean, rearrange furniture and make lifestyle modifications. One thing we noticed at home was that some of the items that found their way into our recycle bin, or worse, the trash bin, really...

The Methane Midden compost water heater that surpassed its goal on kic
Plumbing and water heaters

Compost pile hot tub water heater

We found this video at Whole Systems Design, a New England based company who identify, design, and develop human habitats. In their own words from their website : "We design and implement regenerative food, fuel, and shelter systems that operate on current solar energy. These are homesteads, farms and schools fit for a...

How to use dead leaves in the garden in fall? © Robert J Pierson
Food production

Is raking up dead leaves in fall a good or bad idea ?

Who hasn't played in a huge pile of fallen leaves, all raked up vigorously into neat piles on the lawn on a beautiful autumn day? While it's a great fall activity for kids and dogs to enjoy, and makes for a nice-looking lawn and flower beds before winter, raking leaves may not be the best plan for the garden and in gen...