Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

Architect-Designed Modern & Minimalist homes always attract attention - especially ones that are super efficient, stunningly beautiful and that ooze quality - But Le Refuge is all that and more - It's Affordable too. The tiny house movement is on the far end of the scale of a very encouraging and growing trend towards…

The S1600 Modern prefab kit eco home provides a Stylish & Affordable green home for young families looking for great Value, Comfort & Healthier Living. Affordable prefab eco homes are a growing green home building trend across the US and Canada, as you may have already seen on our pages or in the press. Economies of s…

The Toronto Healthy House was built in 1996, completely independent of municipal water, sewer and electricity systems. Here is a look back at it. In 1996, this off-grid house designed by architect Martin Liefhebber was one of two concept homes selected by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as part of t…

The Windsor Park Net Zero House in Edmonton won 2017 Canadian Green Building Award in the Technical category, proving that Green Building a home is both possible and Beautiful. As owners of this project, we acted as both the designer and general contractor. The objective for the new home (to replace a 1950’s bungalow…

Mark Hutchinson, Vice President of Green Building Programs at the CaGBC, speaks about the new Zero Carbon Buildings Initiative.   SAB: What does the CaGBC hope to achieve with the Zero Carbon Buildings Initiative? Mark Hutchinson: The CaGBC launched the zero carbon building initiative in 2016 to champion the move to l…

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 passively-he…

How to keep power consumption at a minimum in an off-grid house 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 homes blog here, the overview . or…

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. Heating when the grid is down: Beyond lighting, cooking and general home operation, the biggest risk to home comfort and security in a…

Post 4 in Craig Anderson's off-grid living blog covers heating systems - what worked, what didn't, and what changes were made. 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 passively-heated home. See post 1 of the off-grid homes…

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 of…

This is the first in a series of blogs we will post from Craig Anderson about the ups and downs of building an off-grid home. 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 an…