pvc / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

...PVC- polyvinyl chloride) accounts for approximately 40% of the chlorine gas produced in North America. Vinyl is highly polluting in production, and as a building product it is susceptible to UV exposure, causing it to break down and release particles. And in the unfortunate event of it being burned, the chemicals relea...

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...

The Telsa solar roof tiles are in the news again. They now have solar panel shingle installations going in 8 states so far - with what's becoming competitive pricing. If news of these PV roof shingles is also news to you, check out our Tesla solar roof review from when it was first announced in 2016. What was missing b...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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-...

Are tiny houses a good investment? That depends on how you want to live and how well they are built. Small homes are more affordable and eco-friendly that large homes, but are tiny homes on wheels for sale locally green? Read here to find out if Tiny Houses are good for the environment. It seems somewhat contradictory ...

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...