leed-resale-value / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Why build LEED?
LEED Homes

Why build LEED?

There are no LEED certified builders, only LEED certified buildings. To build a home to LEED certification is something that is accessible to anyone, no accreditation is required to undertake the process. It is simply a matter of registering your project and successfully completing the requirements of the program. Why ...

Thermal image showing where home heat loss is occurring.
Insulation and soundproofing

How insulation works

Insulation slows the rate of heat transfer, helping keep homes warmer in winter and cooler in summer. How well-insulated your home is will determine how comfortable it is and how much you will spend on energy for heating and cooling, and in some respects, how durable it will be. The transfer of heat (or heat loss) occu...

Smart sewage backup device
Plumbing and water heaters

Sewage backup flood prevention and water leak notification on your device - our products of the month

Preventing flood damage in basements is a hot topic as we are regularly seeing the effects of climate change in the form of extreme weather events and unpredictable weather patterns. Snow melt combined with torrential spring rains can lead to very high water tables and consequently, sewage backflow is an increasing dan...

R values and insulation performance
Efficient home design

Understanding thermal performance

First published in ecoHouse Canada The thermal performance of wall assemblies and insulation products has long been characterized using R-value, a metric which describes thermal resistance. While R-value is useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story about heat flow through building enclosures such as walls and roofs. Rece...

Real estate

Evaluating a home before purchase: how to recognize value and potential problems

The following are some things to think about while evaluating a home before making an offer. If you're a driver: Check the route from the house to your place of work on Google traffic maps to estimate how much time you will spend in a car every day. If you're a cyclist: Check maps for bike lanes, bike paths and general...

Prefab Passive House & LEED Kit Homes for Sale in Ontario & North Eastern US
Concept and design

Prefab Passive House & LEED ready kit homes - the future of buying a new home?

Prefab Home kits are ideal for Passive House or LEED certified homes Écohabitation the French language Quebec affiliates of EcoHome, in conjunction with experienced Architects & Kit home manufacturers, have launched a series of stylish & affordable prefabricated sustainable green kit homes that are able to meet...

Wood frame Triple-glazed, argon-filled windows in the Ecohome Demo House
Windows and doors

Choosing windows - which window frame? wood v aluminum v vinyl

Material choices for window frames: Window frames can be made from a variety of materials offering different levels of performance and insulation values. Air in the cavities between panes expands as it heats up and contracts as it cools, which puts pressure on the seals and frames. When we speak of durable and sturdy w...

Faulty Toilet Flappers Leak a Lot of Water - here's how to replace them
Bathrooms

Faulty toilet flappers are the leading cause of leaking or running toilets, here's how to fix them

Why fix a leaky toilet flapper? Another of the jobs that sat on my Honey-Do-List for quite a while longer than I care to admit has been to fix the leaking toilet flapper in the bathroom at the cabin - made worse by us being off grid and only having a relatively small amount of water available in our outside rainwater c...

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...

Real estate

Real estate

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...

LEED Homes

Find a LEED Provider

LEED Canada for Homes Providers: Atlantic Canada: Quebec: ThermalWise Jordan MacDonald [email protected] T: (902) 407-9276 Toll Free:1 (877) 771-9276 Mailing address: P.O. Box 31236 Halifax, NS B3K 5Y1 Office: 2459 Agricola Street Halifax www.thermalwise.ca   Évaluations Écohabitat...