Efficient home design

Ecohome Demo House: high performance, affordable cost

Ecohome's Edelweiss House shows that with thoughtful design, high performance home construction is attainable and affordable, without great sacrifices in space or quality of life. The guiding principles during the design of Ecohome’s Edelweiss House demonstration home - passive heating and cooling, healthy living…

Why building an affordable family home today means choosing to build a Green Home

When having a home built, making better choices in design and materials is a wise choice. Even if unconvinced about climate change, green homes are proven to last longer, are healthier and more valuable. As the effects of climate change become more pronounced every year, it is becoming virtually impossible for the…

Efficient home design

The pros and cons of thermal mass in buildings

Dense materials hold more heat than light fluffy stuff does. This can work for or against you. Materials in a home that act as thermal mass are things like concrete, masonry, ceramic tiles, even a large volume of wood like timber frames. All materials inside the insulated building envelope will store and release…

Efficient home design

Phase change building materials - natural heat storage in buildings

When a substance melts or solidifies, it absorbs or releases energy. Materials that do that at room temperature can help regulate temperatures in homes. This article was inspired by a podcast I heard at Positive Energy , where I have yet to hear a podcast that I didn't want to listen to a second time, so check them…

Efficient home design

Thermal batteries: how to passively store heat

Just as a regular battery stores electrical energy, a thermal battery stores heat. Solar heat can be collected, stored and distributed later as needed. What is a thermal battery? Thermal mass of any kind can by definition be called a thermal battery, as it has the ability to store heat. In the context of a house…

Efficient home design

Insulation in green home building, a balanced approach to putting it where it does the most good

Homes are often over-insulated in some parts and relatively under-insulated others. Balanced insulation when building a green home means applying your insulation dollars where they are most needed. Home insulation - how much do you need and where to put it: Think of the heat in your home as if it were water behind a…

Efficient home design

Are better insulated homes worth the money?

Better houses can be cheaper to live in from day one. Why build a less comfortable, and less efficient home if it actually costs more. Is it worth insulating a home past building code requirements? There are probably only two general desires we share when imagining a dream house - we all want the nicest one…

Efficient home design

Understanding thermal performance

Study shows there are more factors at play beyond simply the R value of materials in determining the thermal performance of buildings. First published in ecoHouse Canada What does the R value of insulation mean? The thermal performance of wall assemblies and insulation products has long been characterized using…

Efficient home design

"The Most Resilient House in North America"

A case study by Alex Wilson of the Resilient Design Institute on Ecohome's Kenogami House in Northern Quebec. A resilient home for sustainability Northern Quebec isn’t a place where one might expect to look for a model of resilience . It’s bone-chilling cold in the winter with 10,450 heating degree days per year…

Efficient home design

What is a thermal bridge and why is it so important to break it?

Thermal bridges in walls can reduce the overall performance of a home. Thermal breaks are the answer to this problem. Thermal bridges cause heat loss, thermal breaks stop heat loss It is easy to look at the R value rating of a material and assume that our entire wall assembly matches it uniformly. But when you…

Efficient home design

New Brunswick's most energy efficient home is Passive House designed

With a $77 CAD annual heating bill, the Naugler House has earned its bragging rights as a Passive House design for cold climates. With a heating bill of $77 CAD for an entire winter, the Naugler House is without a doubt the most energy-efficient home in New Brunswick. Not only will it save money long-term, it is…