mass-plywood-panels / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

DLT Dowel Laminated Timber
Wood and organic materials

Two new options of mass timber panels

The commercial construction sector has warmly embraced cross-laminated timber (CLT) in recent years, taking advantage of it as the base structure, but also as a design feature. The assembly of smaller wood parts to create massive assemblies offers a new type of structure (for floors, walls and roofs), with significant ...

Dual axis solar tracker
Solar photovoltaic

Choosing between solar trackers and fixed solar panels mounts

When considering home solar power you will first want to: Update your appliances and get your demand down as low as possible. Convert any appliances that you are intending to convert (such as installing heat pumps to replace those that use fossil fuels).  Replace any incandescent bulbs with LEDs. Now you are ready to...

Flexible 'solar glitter' from Mpower Technologies
Solar photovoltaic

Flexible PV 'solar glitter' panels coming soon

Standard solar panels are rigid, relatively heavy and fragile. A new product on the market called Microsystems Enabled Photovoltaics (MEPV) from mPower Technology may change that. The cells in these pliable sheets are made from high-efficiency silicon, and if one cell is damaged or loses power, the rest will continue t...

Solar panel installation
Solar photovoltaic

Ten questions to ask a solar panel contractor

Diligent research is absolutely essential for any homeowner looking to install a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel system on their home. But at some point, you need to hand the reins over to a trustworthy contractor. To get to that point of trust, you need to ask questions to confirm you’re getting the best equipment and s...

Solar panel reflectors
Solar photovoltaic

Using reflectors to increase the yield of solar panels

The continuing drop in cost for home solar power generation has led to a dramatic increase in the rate of installations, for both residential and commercial use. Increasing the yield through reflection could make that an even more affordable energy supply option. Most of the advances in solar power production come from...

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 ...

Where to place solar panels
Renewable energy

Where to place solar panels

There is a lot you can do in home construction to take advantage of the free energy provided by the sun. That can be passive solar, which is about home orientation and window design to passively heat your home, or active solar which involves mechanical solar panel systems. Solar panels can be either thermal (which tran...

Lithium-ion solar home battery
Solar photovoltaic

Lithium-ion solar home batteries

Home battery systems have recently improved in two substantial ways, and the first big improvement is in the batteries themselves. Lithium-ion batteries on the market today are much more robust and functional than the lead-acid batteries we have relied on in the past. Discharging a lead-acid battery beyond 50% capacity...

Choosing between OSB or Plywood for house sheathing for Roofs, Walls & Floors.
Wood and organic materials

Which is better, OSB or Plywood for Roofs, Walls & Floors?

OSB v Plywood - Which is Best? Odds are, that if you pass a housing development of wood-framed houses, it will have OSB (oriented strand board) as exterior sheathing. When you count sub-floors, roofs and wall sheathing, OSB claims about 70% of the wood sheathing market in North America over plywood. Both products have ...

Transparent solar power producing windows
Renewable energy

transparent solar panels

When considering solar cells as thin as laminate and completely transparent, the possibilities seem endless. Imagine every glass or laminant surface in our built environment and all of our devices, large and small, harvesting solar energy. In a world of passive, self-sustaining mini-power stations, would the need for f...

Passively-heated off-grid LEED Gold home
Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

Off-grid living blog part 6 - energy modeling projections and real performance

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...