News

Canadian Green Building Awards SABMag Entry
Design

Canadian Green Building Awards 2024 - Deadline March 11, 2024

The Awards recognize excellence in the design & execution of all types of sustainably-designed, high-performance Canadian residential & non-residential buildings & interiors, both new & renovated. Ecohome are collaborating with SABMag, here's more info. It's that time of year again, when Architects, Designers and…

Standardized Home Design Directory Canada, a Good or Bad Idea? Image © Robert J
Design

Standardized Sustainable Homes, Enhancing Canada's Housing Landscape

The federal government has proposed a groundbreaking solution to the Canadian housing crisis: the establishment of a standardized home directory. Ecohome would like to see the accent on performance and sustainability. In Canada, the pursuit of homeownership faces formidable challenges, including escalating…

Carbon-Negative Home Bahama Stands Against Storms
Innovation

World's First "Tree-like" Home Unveiled: Carbon-Negative and Built to Withstand Extreme Weather

Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Partanna's Carbon-Negative, Storm-Resistant "Tree-like" Home Offers Self-Sufficiency for a Changing World. Imagine a home that embraces nature's wisdom, not just mirroring its beauty but also actively healing the environment it inhabits. This isn't a futuristic fantasy; it's the…

Canada Greener Homes Grant Ending March 2024
Renovation

Canada's Greener Homes Grant Program may be Finishing in 2024

Insights, impacts, and industry perspectives on the early end to the seven year initiative to encourage greener Canadian homes. Starting March 2024, the Greener Homes grant program in Canada will stop accepting new applications, as reported by the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada…

Bill S287 in New Jersey to encourage use of low carbon concrete
Policy and Regulations

State of New Jersey passes Tax Credits Bill for Lower Carbon Concrete

Bill S287 was signed on Jan 30th and signals State sanctioned incentives for the decarbonization of the concrete industry - including the supply, delivery and use of lower carbon concrete. In a breakthrough for reducing the carbon footprint of North American construction, Bill S287 was signed on the 30th of January…

Mid-rise construction with reduced embodied carbon wood v concrete
Products and Materials

Infographic of the mid-rise wood v concrete construction comparison report

High performance energy efficient homes help to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat and cool them, but this is only half of the story! The embodied carbon in the construction is also important, especially when building mid-rise high density homes. Embodied & operational carbon comparison for mid-rise…

Canada OHPA Grant up to $5,000 to upgrade from an oil furnace to a heat pump
Energy efficiency

New Grant for Heat Pumps announced in Canada - the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) Grant 2023

A new grant scheme for heat pumps for 2023 of up to $5000 has been announced in Canada to help low and middle-income Canadian households switch from oil fired heating to electricity. This $5000 can be added to existing home improvement grants. The federal Government of Canada recently announced details of a new…

California Bans Gas Furnaces and Boilers from Homes
Policy and Regulations

California bans natural gas heating in homes

We previously reported that the UK and Europe was phasing out the use of 'natural' fossil gas in homes, and that Canada is also dropping hints about banning gas. Now California has decided to go ahead and ban gas furnaces, and gas water heaters in homes. “While this strategy will clean the air for all Californians…

Solar powered off grid greenhouse Sagkeeng First Nations Youth in Manitoba
Innovation

First Nations Youth in Manitoba bringing food security to their community with a clean energy powered greenhouse

Two First Nations women have secured funding to build an off-grid solar powered greenhouse to provide food security for their community. The Sagkeeng First Nation is a Treaty-1, 3 and 5 First Nation in the Eastman Region of Manitoba, where two young and ambitious members of their community have undertaken a project…

Zero Carbon Concrete Alternative Product Cement Free by Prometheus Materials
Products and Materials

A Sustainable, Zero-Carbon Alternative to Portland Cement concrete from Prometheus Materials CO - BioConcrete !

Using naturally occurring microalgae, Prometheus Materials and a team of scientists and engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a carbon zero alternative to carbon intensive portland cement based concrete... suitable for ready mix. In a recent press release, Prometheus Materials, a zero-carbon…

Disadvantages of OIL HEATING Systems being BANNED
Policy and Regulations

Oil Heating Ban in New Homes in Canada, is Gas Next?

From December 2021, Quebec banned oil heating in new homes, and as of 2023 it will even be prohibited to replace or repair oil furnaces. Looked at in detail the new provincial regulations potentially also go for gas heating. Adopted on November 17, 2021 in Quebec, the regulations for banning oil-fired heating…