Planning & Designing Sustainable Green Homes

Off grid living blog part 6: Energy modeling can help find the weak links in a building envelope & allow tweaking the design before starting to building an off grid home. 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…

How to keep power consumption at a minimum in a LEED certified off-grid house in Quebec, Canada, without affecting quality of life. 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…

Just as a regular battery stores electrical energy, a thermal battery stores heat. Solar heat can be collected, stored and distributed later as needed. What is a thermal battery? Thermal mass of any kind can by definition be called a thermal battery, as it has the ability to store heat. In the context of a house…

If you are thinking about going off-grid with solar panels and a battery backup, there are lots of good reasons to do so and ways to do it more affordably. We will outline a few here. Solar power and battery storage for winter grid failures: a homeowner's and pro's guide Beyond lighting, cooking, and general home…

Homes are often over-insulated in some parts and relatively under-insulated others. Balanced insulation when building a green home means applying your insulation dollars where they are most needed. Home insulation - how much do you need and where to put it: Think of the heat in your home as if it were water behind a…

Post 4 in Craig Anderson's off-grid living blog covers heating systems - what worked, what didn't, and what changes were made for his LEED certfied home off-grid in Canada. This is the fourth piece in a blog series written by Craig Anderson as he documents the design and construction of an off-grid LEED Gold…

Off grid living blog, part 3: This third post by Craig Anderson outlines the energy systems of his off grid house and explains why he chose them. This is the third 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…

Urban centers are increasing in population, with that comes the challenge of making them a healthy and enjoyable place to live, both in a green home and out. First published in SAB magazine . The way we live is changing. As both an architect and a resident of Vancouver, I am regularly confronted with how our cities…

Modular Passive House construction replaces hospital staff housing that burned down in 2004. Bella Bella is a small community located on Campbell Island between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. Approximately 90% of its 1,500 residents belong to the Heiltsuk First Nation. In 2004, a fire…

What to look for in a new home and location. 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…

While keeping the existing footprint, the Skygarden House renovation brought a leaky old home close to Passive House levels of performance & Comfort. The renewal of this beautiful century old, 225 m2 single family residence on a small urban lot in Toronto transformed a leaky old house into a highly efficient…