"Plumbing"

Plumbing / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Bathrooms

DIY bidet installation video

Should we consider adding a bidet? Although quite popular in Africa, Asia and Europe, the bidet has been slow to gain popularity in America. Could it be that we are just creatures of habit? Does the idea of a jet of water blasting your nether regions seem a hard leap to make at first? Well, you’re probably not the on...

Bathrooms

Are low-flow shower heads worth the money?

...plumbing running smoothly and your water use as efficient as possible. See our eco-friendly practices for energy conservation at home for more! Drain water heat recovery What is drain water heat recovery? Before entering your water heater, the cold water feed goes through thin copper pipes wrapped around the drain. ...

Greywater Heat Recovery

A new design in greywater heat recovery

...plumbing and water heaters in Green Homes here

Bathrooms

EcoVéa: recycled and cleaned shower water

After recently posting a story sharing the brilliance that is the Swedish Orbsys water and heat recycling shower, it was brought to our attention that there is a homegrown Canadian variety as well. The EcoVéa shower by Reveeco is made in Quebec, Canada, and works based on the same principles as the Orbys we recently wr...

Plumbing and water heaters

Compost pile hot tub water heater

We found this video at Whole Systems Design, a New England based company who identify, design, and develop human habitats. In their own words from their website : "We design and implement regenerative food, fuel, and shelter systems that operate on current solar energy. These are homesteads, farms and schools fit for a...

Plumbing and water heaters

Are tankless water heaters good?

...plumbing work. More powerful models might even require a complete revision of your electrical power infrastructure. Modern homes are generally set up with 200 amp / 240 volt electrical service capacity. Using an electrical instantaneous water heater would require increasing input current to 300 amps and replacing the e...

Flooring and stairs

Slate tile installation - video

DIY video guide on how to lay tiles yourself We have finished the bathroom counter, floors and shower stalls with a dark slate tile. Slate is a natural stone, so its surfaces have more character and inconsistencies in texture - and at times in thickness - than manufactured tiles. This can mean a bit more effort on the ...

Heat pumps, geothermal and AC

Increased efficiency with heat pumps working in tandem

Our previous update covered aspects of the building envelope, which allowed us to reduce the annual heating requirement to about the Passive House standard of 15 kWh per square meter. Windows are a part of that but they are also part of our energy performance strategy. The house is laid out south facing to maximize pas...

Plumbing and water heaters

Plumbing & water

...plumbing investment and will eat up some real estate in your basement. So at the price of water, don’t hold your breath waiting for the payback on that one. You could also install composting toilets. They don’t use water, they don’t require septic systems, and they don’t pollute waterways. Not necessarily for your down...

Plumbing and water heaters

How to save money on your hot water bills

How to save money on hot water: We will discuss a number of ways to conserve water, particularly hot water, but all of that starts with using less in the first place! Choosing low flow fixtures and toilets will save a considerable amount of water and money, and probably the quickest and cheapest way to save hot water i...