"Off-grid"

Off-grid / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

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

In 1996, this off-grid house designed by architect Martin Liefhebber was one of two concept homes selected by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as part of their Healthy Housing Design Competition. What was to be built was a three-bedroom semi-detached home on a small lot in downtown Toronto, And beyond...

Green building certifications

Powerhouse: the new standard for positive energy design

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 square metre, which includes the construction phase, energy in operation, material use and disposal. The standard spec...

Lifestyle and environment

Emergency preparedness guide for homes

We are seeing more frequent and more severe weather events as our climate changes, and all evidence points to that trend continuing. Here we have a list of ways to prepare yourself in the event of grid failure or absence of municipal services. Storing emergency food and water: City water systems will remain pressurize...

Concept and design

Resilient design features for new home construction

Future-proofing homes: Our society has a collective trust in its commercial building industry to provide us with homes that we assume meet some realistic standard of resilience. They do to an extent, but a very minor extent. Assuming the climate putters along with relative normalcy, your home will keep you warm, dry an...

Solar thermal collectors

Product of the month: Solar water heater with overheating protection

Solar thermal panels in cold climates are at risk of freezing in winter, so in the North, we use a glycol mix as a heat transfer fluid. This prevents panels from freezing but introduces new problems in the summer months when they are at risk of overheating. There are two main types of residential solar thermal heate...

Solar thermal collectors

All about solar thermal collectors

What is a solar thermal collector? A photovoltaic (PV) solar collector converts solar radiation into electricity, but a solar thermal collector is much simpler than that. It refers to a device that collects heat directly from solar radiation. That can be as simple and rudimentary as water being pumped through a black t...

Solar photovoltaic

Choosing between solar trackers and fixed solar panels mounts

What to consider before buying a home solar power system Update your appliances and get your demand down as low as possible. Convert any appliances that you are intending to convert (such as installing heat pumps to replace those that use fossil fuels). Replace any incandescent bulbs with LEDs. Now you are ready to ...

Tiny house

Are tiny houses good in cold climates?

How to heat and live in a tiny house in a cold climate? Are tiny houses a good investment? That depends on how you want to live and how well they are built. Small homes are more affordable and eco-friendly that large homes, but are tiny homes on wheels for sale locally green? Read here to find out if tiny houses are go...

Efficient home design

The pros and cons of thermal mass in buildings

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 heat, the more dense they are the more pronounced the effects are. Intentionally adding greater amou...

Lifestyle and environment

Resilient homes - why we need to build to withstand climate change events

Future-proofing homes for climate change: Anticipating future climatic challenges and constructing resilient buildings to withstand them should be an important consideration when building any new home - but we're often told that "a Green Home costs more", and too many people then decide in the face of resistance from ...

Efficient home design

Phase change building materials - natural heat storage in buildings

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 out if you're like me and you think listening to building science makes mundane tasks like folding laundry a joy. This particular episode was about phase ...