Passive Solar & Net Zero

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…

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…

The Toronto Healthy House was built in 1996, completely independent of municipal water, sewer and electricity systems. Here is a look back at it, with some tips on optimizing an off-grid home. In 1996, this off-grid house designed by architect Martin Liefhebber was one of two concept homes selected by the Canada…

Recounting the trials — and joys — of building a Canadian home to meets the "Passivhaus" standard. First, the background to this Passivhaus My partner and I are geeks. Our idea of a romantic dream was to build a house so well insulated you could heat it with a hairdryer. For added fun, we wanted to do this on a…

A certified Passive House in North America & Canada can be certified by the Passive House Institute PHI or PHIUS, the US certification system. Discover the differences to decide which Passive House certification is best for you. What is Passive House certification? The term “Passive House” was once obscure jargon…

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 net zero energy home construction project , we acted as both the designer and general contractor. The objective for the…

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…

Follow owner/builders Sarah Cobb and William Murray as they build a home targeting both Passive House and LEED Certification. Building a Passive House that's also LEED certified This is an owner blog EcoHome posted following the personal experience of Sarah Cobb and William Murray of Rocket Construction Inc. as they…

As a part of their Greenest City Action Plan, Vancouver is helping builders get homes certified under the Passive House Standard. Vancouver has set a goal of being the greenest city in the world by the year 2020 . Some of the policies included in that plan are expanded public transportation, bike lanes, encouraging…

The North Park Passive House is a six-unit urban-infill condominium on Vancouver Island, BC. Passive House construction on Vancouver Island Building the first certified Passive House on Vancouver Island, a duplex shared with our son Mark’s family, convinced us that the market in Victoria was ready for Passive House…

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…

Ecohome has a number of awards for building groundbreaking sustainable homes, but Passive House projects on this scale are breathtaking in the way they are pushing the boundaries - Hats off to Architect Tom Wright. Vancouver, Canada established their place as a leader in reducing carbon footprints of cities and…

Sky Group attempting to reach status of Net Zero Carbon by the year 2030, and their new Carbon Neutral studio will help them reach that sustainability goal. The Sky Group claims that their new UK studios will be the most eco-friendly and sustainable TV and film production hub in the world . We tend to believe that…

The Ice Box Challenge compares Passive House construction to standard code-built construction by measuring the volume of melted ice after weeks in the sun. A Passive House uses very little energy to stay warm and comfortable, regardless of the season and regardless of weather conditions. The requirements for Passive…