sustainable-energy-production / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Sustainable Habits at Home Make a Difference
Lifestyle and environment

Simple and affordable ways to live more sustainably every day

Let's be inspired, every day According to a recent survey sponsored by Google of more than 3,000 Americans by using a type of AI called natural language processing, which is where they cluster and analyze thousands of opinions by theme to identify how people felt about environmental issues.  The keyword for how we feel...

FSC certified wood carries the FSC certification labels
Wood and organic materials

All about FSC certified lumber & wood products - Why FSC certification is important

What is "FSC Certified" lumber? The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, not-for-profit organization created in 1994 whose mission is promoting responsible forest management and the production of sustainable lumber and wood products via their "FSC wood certification labels".  Their goal is to protect n...

Wood Combustion - How it works and the different stages
Wood stove and biomass heat

Wood Combustion – How Firewood Burns & How to get the best heat while being eco-friendly

Understanding how firewood burns, the technical details Stage 1: The Evaporation of Moisture – otherwise known as “getting the d@mn thing going” If you’ve ever tried to burn wet or unseasoned wood in your fireplace you’ll know how very frustrating this stage can be. Gathering crumpled paper, kindling, an armful of smal...

Zero Carbon Homes - The S1600 Prefab Eco Home is affordably Close
Planning and Design

Zero Carbon Homes - The S1600 Prefab Eco Home gets affordably Close

The low carbon footprint of the S1600 kit house The Ecohabitation Eco-Habitat S1600 prefab kit home was designed by PARA-SOL Architecture & Development and built by Batiment Pre-Fab Inc. The experts of Ecohabitation recently calculated the total carbon footprint of this surprisingly affordable prefab eco home, whic...

Rendering of River District Sustainable housing development In Vancouv
Lifestyle, location and commuting

Vancouver developer leads the way to more sustainable communities

While governments have a role in shaping and improving the built environment through zoning, development bylaws and other means, developers also play a large role. They choose where to build, the types of homes or buildings that get built, and many of the details that make up a home, neighbourhood and community.  The b...

Stairs made from reclaimed barn beams
Wood and organic materials

All about wood

Finding sustainable wood: We live in a country with over 400 million hectares of forest, so the supply is there; it's simply a case of properly managing it. That also means that when we cut one down, we should plant another. Wood is a renewable material, requires little processing and can almost always be purchased loc...

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 ...

LEED Canada on the rise
LEED Homes

LEED Canada shows strong growth during summer of 2015 including first LEED® v4 certified project

Canada continues to demonstrate its progress in fighting climate change with 204 registered and 211 certified LEED  projects in Canada between May and September 2015. This brings the current total number of LEED certified projects in Canada to 2,466 – second highest in the world. Buildings play a critical role in the b...

Are Laminate Countertops Good for Sustainable Green Counters in Homes?
Interiors

Are laminate countertops good for a sustainable green home?

Are laminate counters good? Laminate countertops were a long-time staple of residential kitchen & bathroom construction, but they started to fall off in popularity around the time rockstars stopped wearing spandex, which was somewhere in the 80s. A trend started at that time towards alternatives to laminate counter...

LEED Silver mid-rise in Gatineau, QC.
Lifestyle, location and commuting

Sustainable building practices create prosperous communities

This post is courtesy of Hutchinson Builders Sustainable building practices are doing more than just helping the environment - they are also helping to create stronger and more prosperous communities. This is according to the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), with its chief executive Romilly Madew explaining ...

The Methane Midden compost water heater that surpassed its goal on kic
Plumbing and water heaters

Compost pile hot tub water heater

We found this video at Whole Systems Design, a New England based company who identify, design, and develop human habitats. In their own words from their website : "We design and implement regenerative food, fuel, and shelter systems that operate on current solar energy. These are homesteads, farms and schools fit for a...