All lumber for interior and exterior framing is FSC certified. All framing materials for the Demo House are FSC certified, and provided by our sponsor Kott Lumber. Kott engineered the plans for us , supplying detailed framing documents including a cut list for each framing member. We were also provided with a wood…

A high efficiency mini-split heat pump feeds a heat pump water heater which will take a big bite out of the future energy bill of the Demo House. 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…

The firm's new ecoMetrics tool allows for a comprehensive analysis of data from energy simulation models across a wide range of the company’s building types. Toronto-based Diamond Schmitt Architects is taking a leadership role in the development of a sustainable design databank focused on energy-use reduction. The…

Add another chapter to the sustainability story of Okanagan College’s Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation. Add another chapter to the sustainability story of Okanagan College’s Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies…

When using rigid foam insulation boards, choose carefully between polyiso, EPS & XPS or mineral wool and hemp. The wrong choice can reduce insulation performance and cause mold and rot in building envelopes. Polyisocyanurate (PIR), Extruded Polystyrene (XPS), Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) or Styrofoam? When building or…

New partnership agreement will bring WELL to market across Canada. Washington, D.C. & Ottawa, ON (June 9, 2015) – Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) and the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) announce a new agreement to promote and advance the WELL Building Standard (WELL) in Canada. The WELL Building…

It's that time of year when the Canadian Green Building Awards are granted. Among this years winners: MEC's head office. Originally published on the Sab Mag blog , click through to see the rest of this years awardees. Jury comment A very high-performance building that does justice to its client’s corporate…

Are you adventurous and ready to increase your access to sustainable energy? This post is for you. DIY home wind turbine The Zoetrope is a vertical-axis wind turbine made from common materials . Many of the materials can be found at your local hardware store and the rest can purchased online or made at home, for the…

With 135 registrations and 202 certifications between January 1 and April 30, 2015, the Canada Green Building Council calls a strong start to the year in Green Building. Ottawa, ON – May 13, 2015 – The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) saw a very strong start to 2015 in terms of green building certifications in…

With a hot tub, personal chairlift and the mountainous playground in his back yard, snowboarding pioneer Mike Basich re-defines what a truly rich life looks like. 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…

This human powered washing machine is a great solution for off grid laundry as they save water and require no electricity. Off grid laundry machine Living off grid often means lifestyle sacrifices, but you still need basic amenities like washing machines. you can dry them on a clothes line, but washing them by hand…

Installing a hydronic radiant floor system in a slab-on-grade floor. Here is our DIY video of  how to lay down tubing for our radiant floor in the Edelweiss House. We have a 10 zone system, allowing floor temperatures in each room to be controlled independently. HePex tubing was provided by Uponor, who also use…

Insulating the exteriors of basements and slabs leaves you with needed to finish the exterior. In this video you see an easy fix to have the exterior surface secured by set concrete, while avoiding any thermal bridges in the process. See more videos about passive solar high performance home building here Once a…

Old ideas and new technologies merge in eco-friendly Toronto infill. This article was originally published in ecoHouse Canada , Winter 2014/15 issue. Kyle England is an architect with William Dewson Architects. Farnham Avenue House is a single-family detached residential infill project. Some of the eco-friendly…

Installing a 10 mil polyethylene barrier below a concrete slab floor to prevent moisture wicking and create a radon gas barrier. How to install a radon barrier - slab floors If in the kind of area where it's a good idea to install a vapor barrier against radon ingress, (check out the Radon maps by state and province…

Installing 8 inches of Roxul mineral wool below a concrete slab floor. Insulating below slab-on-grade foundations Why insulate under a slab on grade foundation? For comfort, and to save money, that's why! In many areas Building Code has fallen behind common sense on what specification of insulation to use under a…

This is the first in a series of videos on how to build passively-heated homes. WATCH MORE VIDEOs about passive solar home design and construction here This is the first in a series of videos on passive solar home construction, we begin with passive solar design basics, orienting the future house on the site to take…

Transparent laminate solar cells put the fossil fuel industry on notice. When considering solar cells as thin as laminate and completely transparent, the possibilities seem endless. Imagine every glass or laminant surface in our built environment and all of our devices, large and small, harvesting solar energy. In a…

Wood framed multi storey buildings are becoming more and more common; the one planned for Vienna, Austria next year would be the tallest in the world. How tall can wood framed building be? The wood-framed skyscraper planned for Vienna shows the strength of wood frame structures, as well as the possibilities. But…