Off-grid / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Materials in a home that act as thermal mass are things like concrete, masonry, ceramic tiles, even a large volume of wood like timber frames. All materials inside the insulated building envelope will store and release heat, the more dense they are the more pronounced the effects are.  Intentionally adding greater amou...

...off-grid on a remote island (and many are by all accounts!), many homeowners are turning to the best desalination systems for off-grid homes to secure a reliable, year-round drinking water source. I'm going to end this with a quote, because this young lady has captured the hearts and minds of such a widespread demograp...

This article was inspired by a podcast I heard at Positive Energy, where I have yet to hear a podcast that I didn't want to listen to a second time, so check them out if you're like me and you think listening to building science  makes mundane tasks like folding laundry a joy.  This particular episode was about phase c...

...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 in the off grid homes blog about off grid power generation and here see post 4 all about off-grid heating systems 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 in the off grid homes blog about off grid power generation and here see post 4 all about off-grid heating systems In...

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, that means dense materials like bricks, masonry and concrete. Even a jug of water sitting in a sunny window is a thermal battery of sorts as it captures and ...

...off-grid pellet stoves that don't need power to operate. Outside of ultra-efficient, passively heated structures, a conventional wood stove or a properly engineered backup power system is often what prevents frozen pipes and emergency evacuations when local power distribution networks fail. A standard grid-tied photovo...

...Off-grid living homes blog post 1: Concept Overview Off-grid living homes blog post 2: Design & Construction Choices Off-grid living homes blog post 3: All about off grid power generation  NEXT PAGE Off-Grid living homes blog post 5: Appliances, mechanicals & systems You could also consider heating with a hi...

...off-grid on the coast and your existing well has become too brackish to drink, you may find a solution in our deep-dive into brackish water desalination for sustainable off-grid living. Now you know more about Solar PV & sustainable & resilient green building techniques here :  Choosing between solar trac...

...off-grid LEED Gold passively-heated home. See post 1 of the off-grid homes blog her, the overview . or post 2 in the off-grid homes blog here covering design and construction choices.  For better or worse, the property that my wife and I fell in love with was over a mile back down a private road, and our few other neig...

The following is a firsthand account of a building project by Craig Anderson and his wife France-Pascale Ménard who bought a large piece of land in West Quebec overlooking the Gatineau River and explored the potential options for creating an off-grid passively heated home. This is the first of many posts that will foll...