"choosing windows"

choosing windows / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Materials and resources

How wood structures compare to steel and concrete for carbon footprint

...choosing carbon negative concrete CMU blocks using Carbicrete and also low-carbon concrete from CarbonCure. Steel stands out for its speed and efficiency in construction. It's relative light weight and ease of construction allows for a workforce about 10 to 20% smaller compared to a similar concrete-based structure bei...

Wall assemblies - renovation

Should I be renovating my home or tearing it down & rebuilding?

...windows; they can be salvaged and given a second life with an unheated outbuilding. If you don’t see a use for them yourself, pop a ‘free windows’ notice on an online classified listing site and someone may come get them. See our pages on choosing windows to help with selection. Read more about when to replace windows....

Choosing where to live

What makes a green home livable to you?

...windows, and rooms with a view. Design from the inside out and outside in and extend living spaces to the outdoors. Provide access to nature with green, usable outdoor living, dining or play spaces, personal – even edible – gardens, or a simple sunny perch. When designing sustainable green homes, let’s make the most of...

Choosing where to live

Green living in the city

...windows and doors, replacing old inefficient doors and windows, install electronic thermostats and dimmer switches, install water-reducing and dual flush toilets (see our data sheet), choose ENERGY STAR certified appliances, these upgrades will offer a net savings by reducing your monthly bills. Using low or zero VOC ...

Choosing where to live

Urban living

...Choosing a home location: Being close to the services you need. Grocery stores, banks, pharmacies, place of work and even places of recreation. In terms of ‘going green’, all your efforts to reduce the ecological footprint of your home can be instantly negated by locating it far from the places you need to go and publi...

Wall assemblies - renovation

Winter preparation for your home - are you ready for the cold?

...windows. Read more here about what to look for when shopping for high performance windows. Drafts around windows and doors: Drafts in homes from windows & doors are worse in winter © Ecohome Aside from the plastic sheet mentioned above, air leaks can often be fixed with a tube of caulking. In fact, it can be goo...

Wall assemblies - new construction

Choosing a building envelope - starting with the perfect wall

...Choosing the best insulation Choosing between a slab on grade or foundation and basement How to design a home that uses less energy Resilient design features for new home construction Carbon footprint comparison of wood and concrete buildings And sign up here for a free Ecohome Network Membership!

How to Find Qualified Green Building Professionals

How to choose a home-building contractor

...windows and doors, for example, which is an essential part of building a more efficient home. Finding a green home contractor in our builder directory and in your local region will help ensure quality and experience as they are vetted. Be careful of who you find with a Google search because the term 'green' is heavi...

Lifestyle, location and commuting

EV home charging stations - how to decide which is the best EVSE for you

...choosing and buying the best EVSE - which is essential for safely connecting an electric car to a 240-volt source of electricity. And to be crystal clear - what became obvious as we researched this article is that electric vehicle charging station can be known by multiple names which leads to confusion, so whether you...

Flooring and stairs

Marmoleum: a healthy and durable flooring option.

Remember linoleum? Meet marmoleum! Remember linoleum, that durable but boring material found on most kitchen and bathroom floors of older homes? These days, its called marmoleum and it comes in bright colors and faux finishes. Whatever name you call it, it’s generally considered both the greenest and healthiest floor c...

Passive House

Everything you need to know about Passive House certification

...windows. The goal is to optimize solar heat at key moments of the day while avoiding the building becoming a furnace once the setting sun reaches deep into the house (balance). Choosing the right windows for a Passive House is key. Heat gain mustn’t be offset by losses caused by badly insulated glass or air leakage due...