"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 ...

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 thermal collectors

Product of the month: Solar water heater with overheating protection

...energy, storage tanks can reach their maximum temperature early in the day and enter a state of stagnation, creating a high-temperature and high-pressure environment. Flat plate solar collectors can reach temperatures as high as 200°C (395°F), and evacuated-tube collectors can reach temperatures as high as 295°C (563°...

Solar thermal collectors

All about solar thermal collectors

...energy as the entire surface area is a black collector. So, in the absence of other factors, a flat plate will produce more energy than an evacuated tube design in summer, because it has a greater amount of collector surface area, and ambient air temperature is less of a problem. Conversely, in winter, air temperatures...

Solar photovoltaic

Using reflectors to increase the yield of solar panels

...energy input. If more light is fed to the panels through a reflector, the temperature variations of the panels themselves will be greater, and the energy output is less predictable. According to Pearce, many manufacturers are unnecessarily concerned about this leading to potential failures. To counteract what he consid...

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

Are tiny houses good 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...

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...

Tiny house

Off-grid tiny house in the heart of the Sierras.

Snowboarding pioneer and photographer Mike Basich built himself an epic Tiny off-grid cabin. Without a bedroom or bathroom per se, but equipped with a hot tub and chairlift, this gorgeous Tiny House is most perfectly situated in the heart of the Sierras. © Mike Basich Basich began his career as one of the p...