endeavour-center / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Are laminate counters good? Laminate countertops were a long-time staple of residential kitchen & bathroom construction, but they started to fall off in popularity around the time rockstars stopped wearing spandex, which was somewhere in the 80s. A trend started at that time towards alternatives to laminate counter...

The Earth Rangers Centre located in Woodbridge, Ontario has been awarded LEED Platinum Certification from the Canada Green Building Council, for Existing Buildings (EB). The Earth Rangers Centre certified LEED Gold for New Construction in 2004, is home to Earth Rangers' Animal Ambassadors and staff and is also a showca...

Heat pump electric hot water heaters, good or bad idea? Water heaters are generally the biggest energy drain in a home after heating. so Air-to-water heat pump water heaters are potentially a big energy saver, particularly when the main heat source in a home is an air source heat pump, as the water heater can in effect...

Healthier kitchen components - countertops If you're into healthy green homes like we are here at Ecohome, there's a lot to think about when choosing a healthier kitchen. Firstly, some beautiful kitchen cabinets, preferably built from FSC certified woods and formaldehyde-free plywood boxes, and that's even before choos...

How solar air heaters work: Solar air heater diagram © Ecohome The above diagram indicates the basic concept of a solar air heater, and while there are many designs, the basic principle is the same - a small fan feeds interior air into a south-facing wall-mounted panel. Air is heated as it passes behind a black surfa...

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...

What is a thermal battery? Thermal mass of any kind can by definition be called a thermal battery, as it has the ability to store heat. In the context of a house, that means dense materials like bricks, masonry and concrete. Even a jug of water sitting in a sunny window is a thermal battery of sorts as it captures and ...

What is a solar thermal collector? A photovoltaic (PV) solar collector converts solar radiation into electricity, but a solar thermal collector is much simpler than that. It refers to a device that collects heat directly from solar radiation. That can be as simple and rudimentary as water being pumped through a black t...

The University of British Columbia has opened the most sustainable building in North America, a $37 million 'living laboratory' that will help to regenerate the environment and advance research and innovation on global sustainability challenges. The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) is one of onl...

Construction is a dirty business, and living in a home under renovation can aggravate asthma and other respiratory illnesses, it can also lead to issues developing that people didn't suffer from before. Air that is full of dust and chemicals can cause respiratory irritations even among adults who don't suffer from such...

It might seem like pie in the sky, but with these easy to read DIY instructions from the good folks at the Endeavour Centre your dream of a warm, net-zero shower is well within reach.  This tutorial will show you how to make excellent use of an easy to put together, handmade, solar hot water system. Use it to build the...