micropower-generation / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Electricity

Lights, appliances and all things electrical

There are a lot of options to consider when shopping for appliances, designing home lighting, and heating your home. These pages outline some things you can do that will help reduce your consumption, and despite what is sometimes a higher sticker price, usually save you money. Home lighting There are many factors that ...

Decentralized Energy Generation for LEED, Passive House & Green Homes
Renewable energy

Which is the Best Type of Home Energy Generation for Green Homes?

Home Energy Generation, which option is best? How the electrical grid is fed near you will be a huge factor in determining the carbon footprint of your home, with or without your own renewable power generation such as having solar panels on your roof. If you live near a windfarm, that's where most of your power comes f...

Drumi the foot pedalled washing machine that makes laundry off-grid oh
Appliances

This foot pedalled washing machine doesn't need electricity and uses very little water.

A typical washing machine can use up to 87 litres of water per load, not to mention its ability to eat up electricity. An efficient Energy Star machine can cut water usage to about 49 litres per load and significantly cut energy usage, but this, the Drumi, will not only wash your clothes without using electricty, it al...

Photovoltaic solar panels
Renewable energy

Solar heating and energy generation

Solar energy Our future truly depends on us continuing to develop and implement renewable energy systems. In Canada, Ontario is at the forefront of that movement by offering strong financial incentives for homeowners to produce their own energy. Some of the other provinces seem to be lagging behind, offering artificial...

Electric vehicle charging station
Commuting

Electric Vehicles getting help from the provinces

There is no question that the best way to lower emissions as we scurry about a city is to travel by foot, bike or public transportation, yet it’s unlikely we will see the end of the personal vehicle anytime soon. Transit would need to become much more extensive and gas much more costly for us to see any significant red...

the installation of a LucidPipe power generator via Lucid Energy
Micro-hydroelectric

Portland, Oregon will Soon Generate Hydroelectric Power in Water Pipes Under City Streets.

Hydroelectric power generation is definitely renewable but not always 'green' when you consider all the side effects, especially when it comes to large hydroelectric dams. In the quest to find alternative power sources to replace fossil fuels, the energy that can be harnessed from moving water is leading to some impres...

The off-grid Ecocapsule accessory dwelling unit
Tiny house

The off-grid Ecocapsule tiny house

We saw this on Off Grid Quest and found it was begging to be shared... If your fantasy is to live totally off the grid anywhere around the world, that dream just got one step closer to reality. Nice Architects just unveiled the first photos of their incredible egg-shaped Ecocapsule home - and the tiny solar and wind-po...

Solar Electricity Generation & Storage with no Batteries, Azelio
Renewable energy

Azelio Solar solutions combine electricity generation & storage without Batteries

New technology combines solar power generation & battery free power storage The forever-changing landscape of the green home building industry sees ideas come and go, and on occasion a game-changing technology or product emerges. The big news lately is in renewable energy - solar power generation, solar power stora...

Tesla Solar Roof Cost Comparison, Competitors & Reviews
Solar photovoltaic

Are Tesla solar roofs worth the money? Are there any competitors? Our take on the future of BIPV

Rooftop solar-power production is fairly commonplace now, and you always know exactly which roof has them because they are highly-visible and somewhat clunky looking. They aren’t ugly but, they aren’t really beautiful either.  As a follow-up to our original article on the Tesla solar roof here, the next phase of solar-...

60 Minutes On This Bicycle Can Power Your Home For 24 Hours (In Theory Anyhow)
Renewable energy

Can you really power your home with a bicycle generator?

Mitigating climate change at home, get on your bike! As we look for ways to mitigate climate change, improving home energy efficiency and decentralising power generation is something we can do to reduce our personal energy consumption and carbon footprint. Theoretically then moving towards home solar, wind power and ev...

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...