"Renewable energy"

Renewable energy / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Green building certifications

Net zero energy homes Canadian pilot results

...Energy Homes? In a nut shell, a Net Zero Energy House is one that produces as much energy as it consumes. It starts with an energy efficient building envelope, high-quality windows, high-efficiency heating and ventilation systems to keep the overall consumption of the home as low as possible, and then renewable energy ...

Renewable energy

Which is the Best Type of Home Energy Generation for Green Homes?

...energy continuing to rise and a global push towards energy conservation and renewable energy solutions, we need to look into alternative ways of generating power. There’s an ever-growing concern towards the cost associated with electricity and more significantly - climate change. The use of pedal power and the product...

Renewable energy

Can you really power your home with a bicycle generator?

...energy consumption and carbon footprint. Theoretically then moving towards home solar, wind power and even bicycle generators can make for a more efficient home, as you rely less on grid-fed power. Even in the greenest province or state with renewable energy there is still a significant amount of GHG emissions (greenho...

Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

A Toronto Off-grid home 20 years later; how did it fare? How could it be optimized?

...energy collection A successful strategy to power a home with solar energy begins like the water system, with the core principle of first reducing demand. To that end, the appliances and systems of this house were designed and chosen for their reduced operational demand of energy. On the roof are eight photovoltaic sola...

Green building certifications

Powerhouse: the new standard for positive energy design

...energy of building materials and decommissioning at the end of its life must be offset by its own energy production. The requirements for certification as stated on the Powerhouse Group website are that a building must - “during its lifetime produce more renewable energy than it uses for materials, production, operatio...

Solar photovoltaic

Choosing between solar trackers and fixed solar panels mounts

...energy; the rest of the time they are not quite operating at full capacity. Those who use panels seasonally (cottages for example), often choose a more horizontal angle to accommodate the high position of the sun, or a steeper angle if your use is predominantly in the winter months. Manually operable solar panel stands...

Tiny house

Tiny Houses - Living in Cold Climates

...energy performance. It also leads to the use of spray polyethylene foam since it has a higher R value per inch, and while spray foam works well, the problem is that most brands of spray foam insulation have high greenhouse gas emissions. Read here about how to find more environmentally-friendly spray foam with lower em...

Lifestyle and environment

Clean energy infrastructure and efficient-housing for Canada's Indigenous communities

...Energy website is championed by Lumos Energy, Clean Energy Advisor and Mentor to Indigenous communities across Canada. Lumos Energy brings extensive experience and innovative strategies to clean energy project development generating a suite of social and economic benefits for Indigenous communities and peoples. We are ...

Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

OFF GRID LIVING BLOG, PART 3: All about off-grid power generation in off-grid homes

...energy and solar power, so this provided just the impetus that I needed to pursue an off-grid home. I'll list the vital statistics of our off-grid energy system first, and then say a bit about how the system has worked so far, as well as the updates that have already been implemented. Our off-grid electricity generatin...

Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

Off-grid living blog: a firsthand account of building and living in a remote area

...energy source, the sun. I also discovered the Passive House movement coming out of Europe, which looks to drastically reduce overall energy use through such things as super-insulation and extremely airtight buildings. Interior design concepts: For any of you who are considering building a custom home, I would recommend...

Grants and incentives

Ontario announces ambitious climate change action plan to reduce emissions

...renewable energy in place already, no other province has taken such a proactive stance on addressing the elephant in the room - transportation. Quebec buildings are powered exclusively by renewable hydroelectric energy, as is much of BC and Manitoba and others, but the perceived energy cleanliness of any one of those...