Home Rating Systems

Building code requirements and certifications

Guide

The Third Space Commons building UBC

BC's Budding carbon zero building ambitions on track for success at UBC...

Holistic design, recycled materials, hempcrete, pushing the boundaries beyond Net-Zero, all of this and more at the UBC Vancouver campus in the form of the Third Space Commons building by Third Quadrant Design. Officially billed as displaying the best of 'carbon minimalism', Third Quadrant Design's Third Space…

Net Zero Energy Homes Pilot Canada

Net zero energy homes Canadian pilot results

Find the builders and see the homes that succeeded in the Net Zero Energy Canadian pilot project. In the EcoHome green building guide pages you can learn to build a Net Zero Energy Home that can withstand a climate change. Net Zero Energy Homes pilot program goals The goal of the R-2000 Net Zero Energy homes pilot…

BC Energy Step Code - Builder Design Guide &  Requirements explained

The new BC energy step code: builder design guide & requirements explained - Vancouver

Are you a BC builder concerned about what the new BC Energy Step Code will mean for your business? EcoHome's been writing articles about high-efficiency construction for over 10 years, so relax, we can help. The new BC Energy Step Code - The details The BC Energy Step Code is a new provincial standard intended to…

Powerhouse: the new standard for positive energy design

The new Powerhouse standard factors the entire energy consumption and life cycle of buildings from cradle to grave. Powerhouse Paris Proof is a relatively new building standard that originated in Norway that is based on the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°Celsius  target. The standard lists maximum and total CO2 emissions per…

Net Zero Homes - Canada's first certified Net Zero House in BC

The first Net Zero-labelled homes in Canada

A Saanich, BC. home is the first certified with the CHBA's Net Zero Label. Net Zero Homes - the design & certification process In May of 2017, the Canadian Home Builders Association [CHBA] officially launched its Net Zero Home Labelling Program, following the successful completion of a 15-month pilot project to…

Case Study: Kenogami House, Saguenay, Quebec

Performance: Passive Solar Index 15 Registration date: February 12, 2015 Region: Saguenay, Quebec Type of construction: Single-family New home PSI rating: 15 kWh / m² Method of calculation: Modelled Built by owner Alain Hamel, the Kenogami House is located at Lac Kenogami, Saguenay, Quebec, and is a winner of the…

Hawaii Preparatory Academy Energy Laboratory

What is the Living Building Challenge?

The Living Building Challenge is the most rigorous and comprehensive of all building rating systems, certified on merit alone after 12 months of occupancy. What is the Living building challenge? The Living Building Challenge is the most rigorous and comprehensive of all building rating systems. Performance…

Leed platinum plaque

All about green home certification programs and rating systems for USA & Canada

Green home building certification programs & rating systems offer an independent third party appraisal of the health, durability and performance of homes and buildings. Why pay for a green home certification? As more people pursue high efficiency green home rating certifications, they become increasingly well known…

Artistic rendition of the 2000 square foot sustainable home being buil

Taking the Living Building Challenge

The Endeavour Centre in Peterborough, ON sets its sights on the Living Building Challenge. The Living Building challenge is one of the toughest green building certifications to complete, and has yet to be achieved in Canada. The Endeavour Centre, a not-for-profit trade school in Peterborough Ontario, is setting out…

News

Living Building Challenge

One of the greenest homes on Earth is taking the Living Building Challenge in Alberta Canada - The Confluence

Named “The Confluence,” this house produces more energy than it uses, it captures water on site and has a positive impact on its occupants and surrounding environment. Located northwest of Calgary, Alberta, The Confluence home is a partnership between Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s (SAIT) Green Building…

Efficiency Capital Achieves Canada's First IREE Certification

Efficiency Capital Achieves Canada's First Retrofit IREE Certification

Toronto's Woodgreen Project leads the way for energy retrofits in affordable Green housing in achieving the Investor Ready Energy Efficiency (IREE) certification. Efficiency Capital’s energy efficiency retrofit project across several WoodGreen Community Housing buildings is the first project in Canada to achieve the…

BC Energy Step Code - Building Sustainable Homes in Canada

BC Leads the way in energy efficient housing and green job creation though the BC Energy Step Code

BC Energy Step Code - A step in the right direction for Sustainable home building in Canada. This step follows in the path of Vancouver’s Greenest City 2020 initiative, which began in 2009, with the Greenest City Action Team masterminded & co-chaired by Gregor Robertson, at that time Mayor of Vancouver, and David R…

Got a Home You Want to Show Off? Nominate Yourself for an Award.

Presented by SAB Magazine and the CaGBC (Canada Green Building Council), the 2018 Canadian Green Building Awards are open to all. The Canadian Green Building Awards are open to anyone who thinks they have a contender. No certification is needed, all homes are judged based on their merits alone. Winners will receive…

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