heating-fossil-fuels / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

What is the cleanest energy?  Despite how commonly  the term ‘clean energy’ is used, there is actually no such thing. At least not in the power delivery market; there are only various levels of ‘dirty’ energy. Starting with the worst and moving up, that would in general be - coal, oil, natural gas and propane, wood and...

The cleaner burning process (than diesel fuel) and price has made heating and cooking with natural gas quite popular in the last couple of decades. However, popularity put a pretty heavy dent in supply, so much so that alternative sources are being explored to meet demand. There are some potentially greener sources of ...

More and more homebuyers are starting to demand energy-efficient new homes and are pushing the building industry towards building better homes with lower fuel costs. Building Zero Net Energy homes is also a trending subject, and they are becoming more common as societies transition away from carbon-based economies and ...

There has been an increase in the use of wood and other biomass fuel for heating homes across the colder parts of North America & Canada for the last decade. In Eastern Canada and the USA in particular this trend was largely triggered by one storm in 1998. There was a noticeable spike in woodstove sales in 1999 thr...

Electric heating is the best option in Quebec. The downside? Winter peaks, where during cold winter days, the grid can become overloaded. Bi-energy heating systems address this problem by using another energy source, which unfortunately is often a fossil fuel. To reduce GHGs and meet environmental targets, fossil fuels...

Is electric heating eco-friendly? Determining whether or not electricity is an efficient and ecologically responsible means to heat a home should include the initial electricity production as well. Burning fossil fuels to fire electric power generation is only around 30-60% efficient. There is also significant loss fro...

Is natural gas bad? Yes it very much is no matter how you look at it. Burning any fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributes to the warming of the planet. The carbon dioxide emissions from burning natural gas are lower than with oil or coal, but there are other emissions to be concerned abo...

A guide to non-toxic weed removal on patios Are there weeds growing in cracks between flagstones or pavers that are driving you nuts? Almost enough to get some earth-poisoning chemicals to fix it, but your conscience won't let you? Great, because we feel the same someatimes and we have some solutions to offer you to re...

Gas stoves - are we playing with fire? Fossil fuel gas stoves and gas cooktops, greenwashed as being '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 bein...

Hydronic heating is a system that uses water as the medium to distribute heat throughout a home, rather than relying on heating air. In simple terms, this means that water is used as the heat-transfer fluid used to warm the living space. Although hydronic heating offers many advantages, it can be challenging to incorpo...

What is passive solar heating and 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 sun ...