earthships-cold-climates / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Earthship in Taos, New Mexico, shame they don't work in cold climates
Concept and design

Do Earthships work in cold climates?

I'm not the Mike Reynolds who invented the Earthship, I'm the Mike Reynolds who thinks Earthships in Canada and other cold climates are a bad idea. A coincidence of names; just putting that out there so The Garbage Warrior doesn't get hate mail that belongs to me.  Where did the Earthship come from? It first showed up ...

Solariums in cold climates won't heat homes unless carefully designed and built
Greenhouses and Sunrooms / Solariums

Solariums in cold climates won't heat your home

Solariums have been gaining in popularity over the last 20 years, as many homeowners have found them to be a very enticing solution to brightening up a long winter. They are made even more appealing by the many manufacturers who offer solariums at very attractive prices - especially when compared to adding a home exten...

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 ...

Greenhouse Construction for Cold Climates
Greenhouses and Sunrooms / Solariums

How to build a greenhouse in a cold climate

Growing Fruits and vegetables all year round in Canada or the colder parts of North America would be wonderful but, sadly, our climate limits us to a few growing months in the summer. And even that would be in the balmier areas of our country; at high altitudes and further north it is difficult to grow any edibles with...

How to Handle a Power Outage in Cold Weather
Lifestyle and environment

How to handle a power outage in cold weather

Why be prepared for power outages in cold weather? From celebrating holidays to snow related activities like skiing or snowboarding, followed by curling up by the fire and enjoying hot chocolate with a good book or your favorite website (;-), winter can be a beautiful time of the year. However, the enchanting snowy sea...

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...

Condensation on windows in our homes - why is it there? - how to stop it?
Walls and Roofs

Condensation on windows is a pain but is it a problem & how to stop it?

Condensation on Windows – Is it Bad? It’s that time of year when condensation on windows becomes a pain, we wake up in the morning, can’t see out, curtains are wet, there’s water on the window bottoms, and even worse it can affect the walls below windows causing mold and mildew in drywall and furniture. Condensation i...

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...

An attic with 'insulating paint' which doesn't insulate
Insulation and soundproofing

Does 'insulating paint' work?

No matter that engineers and architects long ago debunked it, insulating paint still occasionally finds its way into buildings. Powdered ceramic chips that can be added to any paint are said to reflect heat in or out of a building and reduce heat loss by staggering amounts. I was under the impression that this had been...

Building science for LEED v4 wall design made easy
Concept and design

Building science for LEED v4 wall design made easy - video

LEED Platinum V4 Wall Design: Building Science  The wall we designed for the Edelweiss house, Canada's first LEED Platinum V4 Home is best categorized as a 'REMOTE' wall, a high performance building envelope developed by the Cold Climate Housing Research Centre in Alaska. REMOTE stands for 'Residential Exterior Membr...

Future proof your home by preparing and building to for climate change
Planning and Design

Homes built for Climate Disruptions: A Primer for Home Owners and Buyers

I’m writing this during a heat wave in June, 2021, as much of the US and Canada seem poised to experience yet another record-breaking hot summer. Those who are not climate geeks might ask if this warmer-than-average weather is caused by climate change. In fact, weather is not climate. Weather is what happens day-to-day...